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Lunatic Partying with the Goddess n' Bunny - The Chang'e 3 cheerleading thread!
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 01 Dec, 2013 04:34
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Seeing that the launch of a run-of-the-mill comsat got a 27+ page partying thread, and that we also have a party thread for the last planetary landing last year, it would only be fitting to open up yet another party thread for the first Moon Landing in many of our lifetimes - and a complex mission in all of that! (any member here who is less than 37 yrs old)
As someone who have been feverishly following the recent developments of Chinese spaceflight, there's no way I can't be a cheerleader for this mission.
Good Luck to all who participate on this mission! And for the lander and the bunny, have a safe landing and driving on the Moon!
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#1
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 04:57
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Most appropriate.
Go Yutu !
( and yes, im one of those under 37 )
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#2
by
Phillip Clark
on 01 Dec, 2013 07:26
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My actual memory of lunar missions - rather then just reading about them - goes back to Luna 4 in April 1963. I was off school (mid-term holiday) in June 1966 for the Surveyor 1 landing and for the first time we saw "live from the Moon" on the television as the first of those surface photos came in and were immediately released to the world.
Crossed fingers for Chang'e 3. Making a survivable landing on another world is not easy as the Soviets discovered with all of their pre-Luna 9 failures. And while Surveyor 1 was successful, neither Surveyors 2 nor 4 managed a soft landing. Should Chang'e 3 crash I hope that there will be no snide comments from anywhere.
I wonder whether the Chinese will want two successful soft-landings before proceeding with their sample-return mission or whether they will go ahead if only one of Chang'e 3 and Chang'e 4 is successful?
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#3
by
plutogno
on 01 Dec, 2013 09:44
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I was 5 when Luna 24 landed on the Moon. technically I was around during the final 3 Apollos, but I was 6 weeks old when Apollo 15 launched so...
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#4
by
Phillip Clark
on 01 Dec, 2013 10:05
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I hope that I live long enough to see the Chinese become the next nation to land people on the Moon.
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#5
by
HappyMartian
on 01 Dec, 2013 10:13
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I want to see China and everyone else on the Moon building infrastructure and doing ISRU to get ready for sustainable Mars and Ceres missions!
Good luck to the Goddess n' Bunny! Fly well and land softly.
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#6
by
plutogno
on 01 Dec, 2013 10:20
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I am not into manned missions at all. so I wish the Chinese (and everybody else) tens of successful unmanned missions!
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#7
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 10:22
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I heard they will try and sample the
Wensleydale ( my second favorite lunar landing )
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#8
by
baldusi
on 01 Dec, 2013 11:39
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I'll be having family supper during the launch
And I don't have any hopes of media passing the news. Not on the day the football championship is decided. But all my best wishes to the Chinese for this wonderful endeavor.
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#9
by
Lar
on 01 Dec, 2013 11:42
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I ALWAYS like partying with bunnies and goddesses... if they'll give me the time of day.
Count my voice in the chorus of well wishers... and good luck little bunny. What you've set out to do is not easy. Make your parents proud.
If this wakes the rest of the world up, that would be even better.
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#10
by
Phillip Clark
on 01 Dec, 2013 11:48
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I'll be having family supper during the launch
And I don't have any hopes of media passing the news. Not on the day the football championship is decided. But all my best wishes to the Chinese for this wonderful endeavor.
What's football?
And if you can get an online link to CCTV showing the launch live what more do you need today? Launch is my normal meal time in the UK but that will be delayed for The Great Event. Maybe if you have satellite TV you will find CCTV hidden away as one of the channels you never watch.
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#11
by
robertross
on 01 Dec, 2013 12:42
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Well, here's hoping all the best for today's launch!
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#12
by
Chris Bergin
on 01 Dec, 2013 13:12
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I don't know what's stranger......someone saying they aren't interested in manned missions or an Englishman saying "what's football?"
Oh how I hate party threads
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#13
by
Rocket Science
on 01 Dec, 2013 13:39
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I hope that I live long enough to see the Chinese become the next nation to land people on the Moon.
Unless you're 100, you probably won't have to wait long....
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#14
by
Phillip Clark
on 01 Dec, 2013 13:57
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I don't know what's stranger......someone saying they aren't interested in manned missions or an Englishman saying "what's football?"
Oh how I hate party threads
All of those ball-propelling activities are equally boring for me - they always have been. :-)
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#15
by
Phillip Clark
on 01 Dec, 2013 13:59
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I hope that I live long enough to see the Chinese become the next nation to land people on the Moon.
Unless you're 100, you probably won't have to wait long....
If the Chinese do it in 2025 then it will be around the time of my 75th. Back in 1999 I predicted on the BBC that the Chinese would have a crew on the Moon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. Slightly wrong there!
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#16
by
HappyMartian
on 01 Dec, 2013 14:24
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I don't know what's stranger......someone saying they aren't interested in manned missions or an Englishman saying "what's football?"
Oh how I hate party threads
All of those ball-propelling activities are equally boring for me - they always have been. :-)
I used to play a lot of basketball.
Sometimes I wonder what basketball, international football, American football, volleyball, baseball, and golf would be like inside a very large Lunar dome. Plays and ballets performed on the Moon could be fun for everyone.
Lunar sports and performing arts could someday be big money makers on TV and attract lots of tourists...
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#17
by
Phillip Clark
on 01 Dec, 2013 14:42
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Lower gravity would mean that the sports were slower and therefore they would take longer and thus be more boring ............
Yawn .........
;-)
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#18
by
baldusi
on 01 Dec, 2013 15:18
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I'll be having family supper during the launch
And I don't have any hopes of media passing the news. Not on the day the football championship is decided. But all my best wishes to the Chinese for this wonderful endeavor.
What's football?
CABJ and Riquelme, Tevez and Gago.
And if you can get an online link to CCTV showing the launch live what more do you need today? Launch is my normal meal time in the UK but that will be delayed for The Great Event. Maybe if you have satellite TV you will find CCTV hidden away as one of the channels you never watch.
Family means grandma. Not even Internet access. And the phone doesn't cut it for streaming. Twitter is the best I'll be able to do.
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#19
by
Chris Bergin
on 01 Dec, 2013 16:14
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I don't know what's stranger......someone saying they aren't interested in manned missions or an Englishman saying "what's football?"
Oh how I hate party threads
All of those ball-propelling activities are equally boring for me - they always have been. :-)
I support York City, so I'm not in a great position to change your view!
Anyone know the name of the Chinese presenter on the English webcast? He's very good.
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#20
by
M129K
on 01 Dec, 2013 16:22
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I hope that I live long enough to see the Chinese become the next nation to land people on the Moon.
Unless you're 100, you probably won't have to wait long....
If the Chinese do it in 2025 then it will be around the time of my 75th. Back in 1999 I predicted on the BBC that the Chinese would have a crew on the Moon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. Slightly wrong there!
It's just that the Chinese aren't very good at following their premises, not your fault
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#21
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 16:38
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Beautiful launch so far, excellent coverage on live english channel, super solid live video down from the rocket. Really well done !
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#22
by
Blackstar
on 01 Dec, 2013 16:43
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What I want to know is how SpaceX fits into all of this.
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#23
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 16:50
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And massive props to NSF for live updates here. There are basically a couple of twitter feeds, english.cntv.cn live feed ( with somewhat hilarious commentary ) AND NSF carrying this live. Other "live" spaceflight sites pretty quiet ..
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#24
by
AJA
on 01 Dec, 2013 16:53
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Anyone have the groundtrack?
Never mind.. saw the illustration on the stream. Out into the Pacific.
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#25
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 16:56
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What I want to know is how SpaceX fits into all of this.
You could probably take a Dragon with extended fairing with some Draco Super Heavy thrusters and let Elon plot a Mars TLI trajectory to reusable Grasshopper Heavy Mark II 1.1 and get to the moon 5x cheaper and 3x faster than ..
Oh sod it. : )
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#26
by
Jim_LAX
on 01 Dec, 2013 17:22
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I read speculation earlier on another thread that the initial launch of Falcon Heavy COULD throw a payload to the moon with a free return to earth. Probably no real scientific value there but a lot of PR value!
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#27
by
M129K
on 01 Dec, 2013 17:24
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I read speculation earlier on another thread that the initial launch of Falcon Heavy COULD throw a payload to the moon with a free return to earth. Probably no real scientific value there but a lot of PR value!
I also did the math today, with a Falcon Heavy with Raptor upper stage and hydrogen in-space stages you can get an empty Dragon with 2150 kg of payload, enough for two astronauts, to the moon
and back.
Wait... What was this thread about again?
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#28
by
M129K
on 01 Dec, 2013 17:25
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Also, I missed the launch. Bollocks. Does anyone have a video of it?
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#29
by
ugordan
on 01 Dec, 2013 17:30
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Also, I missed the launch. Bollocks. Does anyone have a video of it?
Boost into LEO part: www
.youtube.com/watch?v=lgZslWEQZHY
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#30
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 17:31
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#31
by
kch
on 01 Dec, 2013 17:34
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I hope that I live long enough to see the Chinese become the next nation to land people on the Moon.
Unless you're 100, you probably won't have to wait long....
If the Chinese do it in 2025 then it will be around the time of my 75th. Back in 1999 I predicted on the BBC that the Chinese would have a crew on the Moon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. Slightly wrong there!
Don't sell yourself short -- they still have five-and-a-half years to go on that one. If it's important to them, they'll probably do it.
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#32
by
M129K
on 01 Dec, 2013 17:42
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Spaceref just rebranded Yutu as "Jack Rabbit" (double facepalm)
(I hope time referral links work here)
Edit: Darnit they don't.
Also, I missed the launch. Bollocks. Does anyone have a video of it?
Boost into LEO part: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgZslWEQZHY
Thanks, awesome quality too!
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#33
by
NovaSilisko
on 01 Dec, 2013 18:00
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I hope we get some nice footage of the descent and landing. I remember Chang'e 2 was covered in engineering cameras which gave a lot of awesome views* (such as of solar array deployment, thruster firings, watching the moon below, etc).
I'm curious though, what's the design philosophy behind adding a number of engineering cameras vs having none (like most spacecraft)? Rather, I suppose I'm asking "why not" put small, light, low-resolution cameras across a vehicle. Priorities of signals?
*see this blog post:
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2010/2774.html
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#34
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 18:11
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I'm curious though, what's the design philosophy behind adding a number of engineering cameras vs having none (like most spacecraft)? Rather, I suppose I'm asking "why not" put small, light, low-resolution cameras across a vehicle. Priorities of signals?
There isn't any real reason. Cameras are low mass budget, low power budget. However, downlink bandwidth _is_ at premium. So putting dozens of cameras on the vehicle means you have to have buffer storage and time later to downlink video at the critical events. Having the stored video feeds available could be indispensable though for understanding and possibly resolving glitches - a luxury that was not really available for engineers a few decades ago.
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#35
by
NovaSilisko
on 01 Dec, 2013 18:18
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Having the stored video feeds available could be indispensable though for understanding and possibly resolving glitches - a luxury that was not really available for engineers a few decades ago.
That's what I was thinking as well. The solar panel deploy view especially. They would be nice for PR purposes as well. I think actually seeing spacecraft operate in their natural environment (heh) would get people more excited and interested than just a rendering.
Regarding bandwidth, I wonder how much it actually uses if it's, say, compressed 320x240 or 640x480 video? Transmission presumably would occur during otherwise uneventful times where no science investigations or engineering tests are going on, after a while of sitting on spacecraft memory. If laser communication becomes more prevalent, then that might not be nearly as much of an issue. 1080p HD video from the moon!
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#36
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 18:23
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Regarding bandwidth, I wonder how much it actually uses if it's, say, compressed 320x240 or 640x480 video?
100-300 kbits/s, up to 500, with live H264 compression.
EDIT: and actually, the quality of the video you get from compression is pretty much a function of the bitrate, although its not linear trade between quality and bitrate. Going higher in bitrate has diminishing returns for the quality.
Depending on intended usage, you may want to hit a different sweet spot between resolution, framerate and Qp parameters for compression. Often, a VGA stream at higher fps _with the same compressed bitrate_ is perceived "better quality" than a 720p stream when watched live. However, it really depends if you want to do frame by frame analysis later or what. A good strategy is to try to downlink a "base layer" low bitrate stream from all your sources live, and downlink higher resolution from ( ring buffer ) storage opportunistically.
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#37
by
kch
on 01 Dec, 2013 18:29
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#38
by
AJA
on 01 Dec, 2013 18:54
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*see this blog post: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2010/2774.html
@ALL: DO READ THAT BLOG POST! AND WATCH THE VIDEOS! Holy wow.
That is brilliant. I've half a mind to post this blogpost on all the following Wikipedia pages
- Oscillatory motion and damping
- Retrograde burn / Orbit insertion/ Orbital manoeuvres
- Momentum wheels / Control moment gyroscopes
- Radiative cooling / combustion chambers
- automatic Exposure adjustment
- Shadows
Very cool, China and Chang'E 2. Thanks!
PS: During one of those trim manoeuvres, I noticed that at first, only the throat seemed to glow, but was then followed by some part downstream on the bell glowing too. Is this exposure adjustment by the camera? Passing into orbital sunset, or does the orbiter use two settings for its throttle during these burns?
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#39
by
Rocket Science
on 01 Dec, 2013 19:03
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I wonder if anyone from Playboy read this thread title? Sounds like a regular day at the mansion...
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#40
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 19:20
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Love the back to back headlines at NasaWatch : India Is On Its Way To Mars, China Is Heading Back to the Moon
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#41
by
Blackstar
on 01 Dec, 2013 22:14
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What I want to know is how SpaceX fits into all of this.
You could probably take a Dragon with extended fairing with some Draco Super Heavy thrusters and let Elon plot a Mars TLI trajectory to reusable Grasshopper Heavy Mark II 1.1 and get to the moon 5x cheaper and 3x faster than ..
Oh sod it. : )
Sometimes trolling is sooooo easy...
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#42
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 22:39
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Sometimes trolling is sooooo easy...
C'mon, there isnt a space subject anywhere that couldnt use a little bit of Draco thruster love here or there.
Oh, and they called it a Dragon. Geddit ? Geddit ?? !
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#43
by
NovaSilisko
on 02 Dec, 2013 01:43
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*see this blog post: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2010/2774.html
@ALL: DO READ THAT BLOG POST! AND WATCH THE VIDEOS! Holy wow.
That is brilliant. I've half a mind to post this blogpost on all the following Wikipedia pages
- Oscillatory motion and damping
- Retrograde burn / Orbit insertion/ Orbital manoeuvres
- Momentum wheels / Control moment gyroscopes
- Radiative cooling / combustion chambers
- automatic Exposure adjustment
- Shadows
Very cool, China and Chang'E 2. Thanks!
PS: During one of those trim manoeuvres, I noticed that at first, only the throat seemed to glow, but was then followed by some part downstream on the bell glowing too. Is this exposure adjustment by the camera? Passing into orbital sunset, or does the orbiter use two settings for its throttle during these burns?
You see why I hope Chang'e 3 has similar engineering cameras? Imagine a view next to the engine during lunar descent, or watching the rover scoot off its platform!
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#44
by
savuporo
on 02 Dec, 2013 02:04
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It does have similar engineering cameras, so expect awesome footage.
This is a Chang'e we can believe in : )
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#45
by
NovaSilisko
on 02 Dec, 2013 02:12
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It does have similar engineering cameras, so expect awesome footage.
Great to hear. I hope we get some footage of earth and the moon en route. Especially if there's an angle looking across the deck of the lander, with the rover in frame. Would be a really cool publicity shot if you could get earth or moon in the frame of that.
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#46
by
Guanglin_Galaxy
on 10 Dec, 2013 18:37
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The 1:1 model of Chinese Lunar Rover "Yutu"("Jade Rabbit") carried by Chang'E 3 Lander. Two NavCams(left, "black") and two PanCams(right, "red") and Directional Antenna can be seen on the mast. Two HazCams are on the low-front side. The "slope" below the Chinese National Flag is an Infrared Imaging Spectrometer. On the right side of the Flag, the guy with many "tentacles" is a Lattice Laser-Beams Generator. There is only one instrument on the end of robotic arm, which is called Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer(APXS) and also has been used on Spirit and Opportunity's arms. The small "cylindrical envelope" will ensure APXS survive from the lunar night. Ground Penetrating Radar, which contains two slim antennas, is on the rear side of the rover(hardly can be seen in this picture).
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#47
by
savuporo
on 10 Dec, 2013 18:41
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I like the Economist version of Chang'e with Yutu the best so far
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#48
by
savuporo
on 12 Dec, 2013 23:36
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Okay, who was looking for some
really really nice die cast models ?
China’s first line of "Lunar Probe" Precious Metals includes gold sculpture and gold/silver commemorative medals, among which the gold sculpture named Chang'e Flying to the Moon, is made of 99.9% fine gold, coded by ICBC, and available to global buyers with limited volume. It represents the first gold sculpture product in China combining "gold, lunar exploration and sculptural artwork", and so far the only "Lunar Exploration" gold product in the world. It has three specifications: 29 sculptures in 2000 grams, 99 sculptures in 1000 grams and 999 sculptures in 500 grams.
The sculpture was made by renowned Chinese artist Yuan Xikun and is the world's only gold artwork embedded with rocket debris. Yuan spent half a year making the piece.
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#49
by
KelvinZero
on 13 Dec, 2013 09:15
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Good luck to the chinese moon landing!
Though I desperately hope the mission is a complete success from end to end, it occurred to me that how they respond to a failure would in a way be more important than a success. Im sure the scientists and engineers are sincere but are the politicians that provide the funding looking for flashy successes or are they prepared to treat each failure as a gem, to separate the true from the untrue. The physics of space travel cuts through all human conceit.
..though to be honest, mainly Im thinking "buggies on the moon.. cool!"
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#50
by
collectSPACE
on 13 Dec, 2013 15:27
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Okay, who was looking for some really really nice die cast models ?
Perhaps I am mistaken, but it appears the model is of the goddess Chang'e and not the spacecraft or rover. (The other "precious medal products" being offered are medallions.)
The sculpture was made by renowned Chinese artist Yuan Xikun and is the world's only gold artwork embedded with rocket debris. Yuan spent half a year making the piece.These sculptures were introduced before the Chang'e-3 launch, so it sounds like the debris came from an earlier rocket...
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#51
by
savuporo
on 13 Dec, 2013 15:44
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#52
by
faramund
on 13 Dec, 2013 21:32
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Does anyone have any guesses on when its supposed to land, a few pages say 14th, which is today, now, in the West Pacific.
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#53
by
HappyMartian
on 14 Dec, 2013 15:01
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#54
by
Duds
on 14 Dec, 2013 16:41
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Congratulations!!
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#55
by
savuporo
on 14 Dec, 2013 16:49
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It took a while, but finally,
Wan Hu can rest in peace !
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#56
by
AS-503
on 14 Dec, 2013 16:55
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It took a while, but finally, Wan Hu can rest in peace !
I think its safe to say he is resting in piece(s)
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#57
by
Rocket Science
on 14 Dec, 2013 17:24
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Now that’s what I call the epitome of home delivery of Chinese.... “Eagle, you ordered egg rolls?”
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#58
by
savuporo
on 14 Dec, 2013 17:27
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Now that’s what I call the epitome of home delivery of Chinese.... “Eagle, you ordered egg rolls?”
I cringe fearing the bad jokes hitting the interwebs now ..
Wernher Von Braun @DrVonBraun 2h
Do you know how much China's rover weighs? Won-Ton.
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#59
by
Rocket Science
on 14 Dec, 2013 17:40
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Now that’s what I call the epitome of home delivery of Chinese.... “Eagle, you ordered egg rolls?”
I cringe fearing the bad jokes hitting the interwebs now ..
Wernher Von Braun @DrVonBraun 2h
Do you know how much China's rover weighs? Won-Ton.
You bet, “if over 50 years late, it’s free”....
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#60
by
savuporo
on 14 Dec, 2013 17:48
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Yes, and free moon cakes please. /i will burn in hell
Also it bears to mention that the live coverage was much more subdued than this last one
http://bit.ly/1ftX99K
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#61
by
Silmfeanor
on 14 Dec, 2013 19:45
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Congratulations!
First moon landing in my lifetime, hopefully not the last. Very exciting to watch it live.
Attached picture found on the internet, pretty good, right?
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#62
by
Steven Pietrobon
on 15 Dec, 2013 00:33
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After the landing last night, I took this photo of the Moon with my cheap digital camera. Unfortunately, the Moon is washed out, but was surprised that stars also appeared. Also had a look with my binoculars. As we're in the southern hemisphere, the Moon looks "upside down" to us.
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#63
by
savuporo
on 15 Dec, 2013 06:57
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#64
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 15 Dec, 2013 07:25
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I was driving on I-280 just a short while ago and could not stop glancing at the moon. Almost crashed.
BTW, Any of our mandardin speaking friends here translate this one ?
https://twitter.com/remonwangxt/status/411841979761176576/photo/1
It cant be good ?
Translation: This may be what happened to Chang'e after landing on the Moon:
"Where's
Wu Gang that stupid kid? He promised to meet me when I land!"
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#65
by
Avron
on 15 Dec, 2013 15:15
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First for China, rover to take siesta on moon over noon time period. That has to be a first for China moon or no moon. Who knows what will happen over the noon hours on the moon.. Cooked Rabbit, I hope not..
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#66
by
plutogno
on 15 Dec, 2013 16:18
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rabbits are also known to multiply quite fast... here I am waiting for a Fibonacci series of lunar robotic missions
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#67
by
Ares67
on 15 Dec, 2013 19:44
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The rabbit has landed!
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#68
by
Rocket Science
on 15 Dec, 2013 20:01
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The rabbit has landed!
Now that’s funny!
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#69
by
MP99
on 15 Dec, 2013 20:10
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rabbits are also known to multiply quite fast... here I am waiting for a Fibonacci series of lunar robotic missions
See what you did there - very good!
cheers, Martin
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#70
by
Citabria
on 16 Dec, 2013 17:58
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This got deleted from the Live Update thread. Fair enough. Will it fly here?
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#71
by
NovaSilisko
on 16 Dec, 2013 18:01
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I suppose it goes better here, except it's backwards. Chang'e should be giant and all hunched over with tiny Yutu sitting on her back
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#72
by
savuporo
on 16 Dec, 2013 19:00
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This got deleted from the Live Update thread. Fair enough. Will it fly here?
That should be the official mission patch
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#73
by
Eric Hedman
on 16 Dec, 2013 21:05
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It took a while, but finally, Wan Hu can rest in peace !
I think its safe to say he is resting in piece(s)
Now that's funny.
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#74
by
Eric Hedman
on 16 Dec, 2013 21:08
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#75
by
luhai167
on 17 Dec, 2013 07:44
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In the People's Daily they are addressing the argument over the value of spending on these kinds of missions. It'll be interesting to see if they end up with same kind of issues we have here.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/202936/8486114.html
Indeed there is a debate here. Though, in China's case, there is the example of Zheng He to argue against "common sense bean counting".
Here is a except from a rather popular post about current affairs in China. This section talk about future of space flight. The article is strongly for space exploration, but cautions against spending too much too quickly.
http://www.cchere.com/article/3930201走出去，还是留下来，这是一个问题。六百年前，我们中国人曾经面临过一次类似的抉择。当时的我们拥有世界上最强大的远洋船队，有能力去往地球上任何地方。但是，我们的祖先放弃了这个机会，因为外面的世界是那么的漂泊不定、凶险莫名和无利可图，而脚下的土地是那么的确定和牢靠，上面的收获是那么的丰盛和稳定，自己的家园是那么的安全和温暖。所以，他们放弃了航船和海图，专心于祖传的土地和生活，结果是在一百多年前的那次危机中，我们险些失去了自身的生存机会。如今我们虽然渡过了危机，但只能在脚下这片有限的土地上寻求生活，面临各种资源匮乏的危机，土地、粮食、油气、淡水、铁矿等等，莫不如是，人口压力和环境问题的根源也都在此。为此中国建设了不少规模宏大的资源调配工程，南水北调、北煤南运、西气东送……，以满足各地的需要；付出巨额的投资乃至鲜血和生命，在崇山峻岭之中修建架桥、修路、开隧道；动用政治、经济、军事、外交等一切手段从海外获得资源，南沙争端、钓鱼岛巡航、援助非洲……；归根到底，这一切都是在为我们的生存和发展获取必要的资源。我们在赞叹这些成就的壮观和宏伟之余，心底里不知是否也有那么一丝丝的感慨和无奈。
相比之下，西方的航海者冒着九死一生的危险坚持远洋航行，“发现”了新大陆，为工业化积累了原始资本、开拓了原料产地和产品市场，此后他们开枝散叶，遍布整个地球，获得了极大的生存空间和资源。他们得以保留大片的原始森林和草地，休闲之余还可用来展示对野生动物的爱心关怀；他们不需要象我们一样用河堤和大坝来保卫自己的家园，只需要搬离泛滥的河床、崩塌的山丘就行了，享受安全的生活之余，还能大肆宣扬自己保护自然环境的高尚品德。然而，这些东西都不是属于我们的，六百年前的那个选择让我们失去了这个机会。指出这些，并非是鼓动我们去学习当年的殖民者――用消灭土著的办法为自己拓展生存空间，那不是我们的文明传统，也绝不是我们应该做的事情。我们需要从中学到的教训，不是在地球上重复他们的作为，而是不要再犯自己曾经犯过的那个错误，仅此而已。
今天的中国又一次面临相同的选择。近代从西方爆发的工业革命和科技进步，使得包括中国在内的全体人类获得了前所未有视野和能力，让我们第一次睁开眼睛观看宇宙、第一次迈开步伐走入宇宙。西方的工业先进国家已经实现了让人类踏上月球、无人探测器登陆火星和飞出太阳系。现在，人类已经站在了通向无限宇宙的大门口，对于中国也是同样。何去何从，是重复六百年前的那种选择，还是勇敢地走出去？历史的选择再一次摆在了我们的面前。如果中国仅仅在地球的范围内寻求未来，把工业作为在这个小小行星上求生或者称霸的手段，满足于工业化带来的生活享受，前景恐怕不会比恐龙更加长远。相反，如果我们能够把握住这个机会，勇敢而坚定地走出去，五千年绵延不绝的华夏文明将不仅能重新屹立在世界之林，而且有机会成为星际文明，在无限广阔的空间里得以生存。实际上，能够再次拥有这样的机会，本身已经是命运对于我们的极大眷顾了。其他很多民族、很多文明，连一次这样的机会都没有得到过，就消失在历史的长河里了。相信这一次我们能够把握住这个机会，因为航天对我们而言，不仅是一种实用技术，而且意味着未来的生存空间和发展方向。
毫无疑问，航天工程的投入是极其巨大的，搞不好的话还没有怎么进入太空，国家就先崩溃在地面上了，这方面前苏联的教训是值得我们借鉴的。要走入星辰大海，必须也只能一小步一小步地往前走，不能把航天搞成消耗资源的无底洞，也不能为了好高骛远的目标而损害眼下的生存，而是要让太空为地面服务、为当前的生存服务，以此为起点逐步向外发展，才能走得越来越远。
现在的中国正是这么做的。通讯卫星、遥感卫星、北斗导航等等都是为地面服务的，并且为我们带来了实实在在的经济利益和安全保障。中国的载人航天采取的是分步走的策略，没有象美苏在太空竞赛中那样不计代价地连续发射，而是在尽可能少的发射次数中完成尽可能多的测试，每次达成一个阶段性目标：神舟一号为试验样机，神舟二号为定型飞行，神舟三号进行了模拟载人试验，神舟四号完成了实际载人前的全系统改进和测试，神舟五号把中国人首次送入了太空，神舟六号完成了多人多天的太空飞行，神舟七号实现了宇航员的太空行走，神舟八号在无人情况下与天宫一号达成了空间交会对接和组合体运行，神舟九号把中国人送进了自己的空间站，神舟十号在天地之间实现了实时双向的太空授课。在前后14年的时间里，以平均每年不足一次的发射频率，中国从无到有地建立了载人航天系统并拥有了太空站技术，下一步，到2020年，中国将建立起长期有人值守的大型空间站。中国的探月工程也是同样的节奏，分为“绕”、“落”和“回”三个阶段，依次实现绕月探测、月面着陆和取样返回，之后才是载人登月。可见中国航天所走的，是一条稳健实用之路，不为争霸、不图虚名，只为国家富强和民族生存，未来还将一步步地走向星辰大海。
Quick and Dirty google translate
Go , or stay, this is a problem . Six hundred years ago , we Chinese people have faced a similar choice. Then we have the world's most powerful ocean-going fleet , have the ability to go anywhere on the planet . However , our ancestors gave up this opportunity, because the outside world is so vagrant , inexplicable and dangerous unprofitable , while the foot of the land is so determined and strong , above the harvest is so rich and stable , their own the home is so safe and warm . So they gave up the ship and charts, to concentrate on ancestral lands and lives , the result is that a crisis in one hundred years ago , we almost lost their chance of survival. Today, although we crossed the crisis, but only seek limited on this piece of land at the foot of living crisis facing scarce resources , land, grain, oil , fresh water, iron , etc., nothing so , population pressure and environmental root of the problem are also here. To this end a number of large-scale Chinese construction resource deployment project , the South , North coal south , West -East Gas Transmission ...... to meet the needs of the country; pay a huge amount of investment as well as blood and life , the construction of the bridge in the mountains , roads, open tunnel ; mobilize all means to the political, economic , military, diplomatic and other resources obtained from abroad , Nansha dispute over the Diaoyu Islands cruise , Africa ...... ; Ultimately, all this is to get to our survival and development of the necessary resources. We praise these spectacular and magnificent achievements aside, the heart, so I do not know if there 's a trace of emotion and frustration.
In contrast, the West Nine Lives Voyager insistence risking ocean voyage , "discovered" the New World , for the industrialization of the original accumulation of capital , raw materials and products open up the market , then they are flourishing throughout the whole earth , was a great living space and resources. They preserved large tracts of virgin forest and grassland , leisure I also used to show love and care for wild animals ; They do not like us with embankments and dams to defend their homes , just move out of the river flooding , collapse of the hills on the line, enjoying the security of life , but also trumpeted themselves to protect the natural environment of noble character . However, these things are not part of us, six hundred years ago, the choice to let us lose this opportunity. Point out that these are not encouraging us to learn is the year of the colonists - with the eradication of the indigenous way to expand living space for yourself, it is not our cultural tradition , nor are we supposed to do . We need to learn the lessons and not repeat them , as on Earth , but not to repeat the mistake he had committed , and nothing more.
China today faces the same choice again . From the outbreak of the modern western industrial revolution and technological progress , making all human beings , including China, gained unprecedented vision and ability , so we first opened his eyes to watch the universe , taking the first steps into the universe . Western industrialized countries have achieved so that humans set foot on the moon, flying unmanned probe to Mars and the solar system . Now , mankind has stood at the gate leading to an infinite universe , is the same for China . Go , is repeated six hundred years ago, the kind of choice, or courage to go out ? The choice of history once again placed in front of us. If China is just asking for the future within the scope of the earth, or dominate the industry as the survival of the small planet means to meet industrialization brought enjoyment of life , long-term prospects will probably not be more than the dinosaurs. On the contrary, if we can seize this opportunity to go out and brave and firm , five thousand years of Chinese civilization unbroken will not be able to re- stand in the forest of the world , and have the opportunity to become interstellar civilization , in the vast unlimited space to survive. In fact , to have this opportunity again , fate itself is a great blessing for us up . Many other ethnic groups , many of civilization , even one such opportunity have not been before, it disappeared in the course of history in it. I believe this time we are able to seize this opportunity because spaceflight for us, is not only a practical technology , but also means that the future direction of development of space and survive .
Undoubtedly, investment aerospace engineering is extremely huge, if not how they might go into space , the state on the first crash on the ground , and in this regard the former Soviet Union learned is that we can learn from . To walk into the sea stars , must only small steps to move forward , the consumption of resources can not mess aerospace bottomless pit , nor ambitious goals in order to survive the damage now , but to make space for the ground services for the survival of the current service , as a starting point for the development of progressive outward to go farther .
Now China is doing . Communication satellites , remote sensing satellites, Beidou navigation , etc. are for the ground services , and brought tangible economic benefits and security guarantees for us. China 's manned space taken is to go step by step strategy , the Soviet Union did not like at all costs to launch in the space race in a row , but to complete the task in fewest missions possible, each reached a milestones : Shenzhou I to test prototype , Shenzhou II was finalized flight , Shenzhou III trials were simulated manned Shenzhou IV completed the system-wide improvements and practical test before manned Shenzhou V of the Chinese people for the first time into space , Shenzhou VI completed a multi- multiplayer -day space flight , Shenzhou VII spacewalk astronauts achieved , under no circumstances Shenzhou VIII and Tiangong reached a space rendezvous and docking and assembly run , the Chinese Shenzhou nine people sent its own space station , Shenzhou ten between heaven and earth to achieve a real-time two-way teaching space . In the 14 years before , the annual average less than once a transmit frequency, Chinese from scratch to build a manned space systems and has a space station technology , the next step , by 2020, China will establish a long-term was on duty the large space station . China 's lunar exploration program is the same rhythm, into "around ", " down" and "back" in three stages , in order to achieve lunar exploration , lunar landing and sample return , after which is manned lunar landing . China Aerospace are taking visible , is a robust and practical road, not hegemony , not undeserved reputation , only to national prosperity and national survival , the future will be a step towards the sea of stars .
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#76
by
baldusi
on 17 Dec, 2013 14:23
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A good translation should be sent to every single Congressmen on USA, Europe, Japan and India. Just to remind them of how long thinking nations do it.
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#77
by
savuporo
on 18 Dec, 2013 21:21
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Chang'e-3 Moon Rover @ChangRover 17 Dec
I have proved the moon landings were faked. If the Americans had landed here 40 years ago there would be at least one Starbucks.
Well. They definitely were not from downtown San Francisco.
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#78
by
Lar
on 18 Dec, 2013 21:35
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A good translation should be sent to every single Congressmen on USA, Europe, Japan and India. Just to remind them of how long thinking nations do it.
+1
"the future will be a step towards the sea of stars" ... if we choose that future.
"long-term prospects will probably not be more than the dinosaurs" ... if we don't
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#79
by
savuporo
on 19 Dec, 2013 19:10
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#80
by
ugordan
on 19 Dec, 2013 21:51
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an artists conception of a massive asteroid strike on that picture.
If that is so, it's a lame attempt, because that is very much a nuclear fireball. More precisely, the kind of a double fireball that was seen in U.S. tests
Grable of operation Uphsot-Knothole and
Priscilla of operation Plumbbob.
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#81
by
savuporo
on 19 Dec, 2013 22:00
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Uh, you realize how off the scale that is ?
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#82
by
ugordan
on 19 Dec, 2013 22:02
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Of course I do. I am commenting on the artist's laziness in using pretty much a stock photo of one of the more iconic nuclear detonations. Why the surprise that people associate that background image with "nuking Europe", then?
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#83
by
savuporo
on 19 Dec, 2013 22:23
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#84
by
KelvinZero
on 20 Dec, 2013 03:52
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Im not sure if my first glance interpretation would have been a nuclear attack on europe or an asteroid, but..
..if I had interpreted it as a nuclear attack, especially on a foreign power, I would have found it incredibly confusing, like a picture of barney the dinosaur getting jiggy with captain lightyear. I can't imagine the mindset of someone who looked at something like that and saw some sinister meaning as opposed to just thinking WTF. Maybe the sort of people who believe in zionist chinese atheist feminist conspiracies could look at that and nod knowingly. Anyone else would think WTF. That interpretation makes absolutely zero sense. Even if you believed some government had such a plan and could somehow tie it to a rover on the moon, how could anyone for a second think such information would be leaked this way? Its like those conspiracies of barcodes on the backs of street signs so invading UN troops know which way to go.
..so after any sort of consideration I guess I would go with asteroid. I expect the link there would also be pretty tenuous but its topical and might get some funding. What would the asteroid link be? I heard something of them doing some observation of space from the lander. Is it related to that? I figured any observation they did would be fairly small and just gathering data for how a larger telescope might behave. What are the advantages of observing from the near side of the moon? (I have heard about the far side ones)
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#85
by
luhai167
on 20 Dec, 2013 07:40
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an artists conception of a massive asteroid strike on that picture.
If that is so, it's a lame attempt, because that is very much a nuclear fireball. More precisely, the kind of a double fireball that was seen in U.S. tests Grable of operation Uphsot-Knothole and Priscilla of operation Plumbbob.
Neither, it's just whomever made this piece what a image of "earth rise" that isn't the iconic apollo image, and got this instead. I would not be surprised if this the is first very high resolution image they found via view of earth from space search query in baidu and used it.
Sloppy marketing work, indeed. But if you seen the websites for
Chinese space companies you would not be surprised by this. (That site has tons of dead internal links and looks like it's made a high school student) Perhaps its a good thing, as they are not wasting money on graphics designers and advertising people and spend more money on engineering instead.
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#86
by
savuporo
on 22 Dec, 2013 18:57
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#87
by
Dalhousie
on 23 Dec, 2013 00:00
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"the future will be a step towards the sea of stars" - exquiste. Is there an author I can attribute this to?
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#88
by
MadCow
on 23 Dec, 2013 10:12
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"the future will be a step towards the sea of stars" - exquiste. Is there an author I can attribute this to?
A series of posts titled 'looking the future of China from the past dragon years' by a netizen called 'Diamond' , were posted on
www.cchere.com from August 2013. An eBook was published on the same website in October 2013, proofread and typeset by 云中飞. The book recounts the achievements and reveals the future of China's industrialization.
Here's the link for the eBook:
http://www.ccthere.com/article/3930313The sentence you quoted is the last one of the afterword. I think it should be better translated as 'the future will be step by step towards the sea of stars'.
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#89
by
luhai167
on 27 Dec, 2013 23:21
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#90
by
Dalhousie
on 28 Dec, 2013 21:09
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"the future will be a step towards the sea of stars" - exquiste. Is there an author I can attribute this to?
A series of posts titled 'looking the future of China from the past dragon years' by a netizen called 'Diamond' , were posted on www.cchere.com from August 2013. An eBook was published on the same website in October 2013, proofread and typeset by 云中飞. The book recounts the achievements and reveals the future of China's industrialization.
Here's the link for the eBook:
http://www.ccthere.com/article/3930313
The sentence you quoted is the last one of the afterword. I think it should be better translated as 'the future will be step by step towards the sea of stars'.
Thanks for that. I wonder if the author was knowingly developing Arthur Clarke's phrase "across the sea of stars"?
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#91
by
luhai167
on 29 Dec, 2013 06:52
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Possible, but I doubt it's directly from Arthur Clarke (which virtually unknown in China). From the phase used in Chinese, 我的征途是星辰大海， it's seems to be taken directly from novel by Chinese novelist 今何在 and Japanese Yoshiki Tanaka. They possible these authors are inspire by Arthur Clarke which further inspires fans of space travel.
edit: I just read 今何在's blog. It appears he is directly inspired by Yoshiki Tanaka's Legend of Galactic Heroes series. So I wonder what his connection to Arthur Clarke. Interestingly Yoshiki is a fan of Chinese history.
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#92
by
Phillip Clark
on 29 Dec, 2013 10:56
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I hope that the Eagle and Falcon already on the Moon don't go bunny hunting. ;-)
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#93
by
Dalhousie
on 30 Dec, 2013 19:55
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Possible, but I doubt it's directly from Arthur Clarke (which virtually unknown in China). From the phase used in Chinese, 我的征途是星辰大海， it's seems to be taken directly from novel by Chinese novelist 今何在 and Japanese Yoshiki Tanaka. They possible these authors are inspire by Arthur Clarke which further inspires fans of space travel.
edit: I just read 今何在's blog. It appears he is directly inspired by Yoshiki Tanaka's Legend of Galactic Heroes series. So I wonder what his connection to Arthur Clarke. Interestingly Yoshiki is a fan of Chinese history.
It was a title of a collection of stories, they did not need to read the stories, just see the title.
I am a an of Chinese history two, ever since I studied it at school
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#94
by
KelvinZero
on 31 Dec, 2013 08:51
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