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> Is this what a space race feels like? No. New Horizons capturing Ultima Thule is not a large enough event to warrant the Chinese feeling like they need to c
by adventured 8y ago
> Is this what a space race feels like?
No.
New Horizons capturing Ultima Thule is not a large enough event to warrant the Chinese feeling like they need to compete with it. Spectator wise, it's a nice event for anyone that likes astronomy. It will be ignored by most of the people on the planet, just as the Chinese landing on the far side of the moon will be. These are not seminal moments in space history.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- isostatic 8y agoNew Horizons was the most read story on bbc yesterday morning. China’s landing is today. It’s no Sputnik or Gagarin or Apollo, but experts at Nasa as "a first for humanity and an impressive accomplishment".
- computerex 8y ago> These are not seminal moments in space history. Intercepting a 20 km object in the Kuiper Belt, the farthest body ever explored by mankind, isn't seminal? This also happens to be the first encounter with a planetesimal. It gives us a unique window into planetary formation. This is a very huge accomplishment.
- bluGill 8y agoCorrect, but the average person doesn't care. They might have read about it and gone "neat", but they have already forgotten about it.
- computerex 8y agoSo what? The hell with the average person. You think the average person cares about any physics breakthroughs like gravity waves detection or breakthroughs in any other field? We don't define seminal moments by what the average person thinks about the science.