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Forgive my ignorance, but why would China being the next on the moon be such a bad thing? Aren't moon missions mostly just "look what I can do!" sorts of thing
by Hugsbox 5mo ago
Forgive my ignorance, but why would China being the next on the moon be such a bad thing? Aren't moon missions mostly just "look what I can do!" sorts of things?
- jillesvangurp 5mo agoDepends on your point of view. But I imagine some people in the US would not be happy to lose that race. The reason it was a race in the sixties is because they definitely didn't want the Russians to get there first.
- Hugsbox 5mo agoSo purely so that China doesn't get the bragging rights? I guess I don't see the big deal but I'm sure it's more important than it seems on the surface.
- brookst 5mo agoSome of that, and also because it’s a benchmark of program maturity. Think of it as not wanting China to be able to do things the US can’t, with some overtones of military capability, American exceptionalism, the symbolism of China not even being in the race that the US won 56 years ago, etc.
- Hugsbox 5mo agoThat makes a lot of sense! Thanks for your patience with my smooth brain
- pphysch 5mo agoChina isn't looking at it just for bragging rights, but as a step towards the first moon base. Some see it as a race for the frontier and territorial claims.
- Matl 5mo agoAre you saying that Americans, who have close to 1,000 known and many unknown bases in every corner of the globe are worried someone else might set up a base somewhere before them? I guess I am just not that bothered, because I don't assume American intentions are inherently better.
- fastball 5mo agoWould you really be surprised to discover that Americans in general might be more inclined to assume that American intentions are better?
- Hugsbox 5mo agoIs a moon base a practical or even useful thing to have? I mean, it sounds really cool, but what would be the benefits?
- hgoel 5mo agoFor decades, Americans have been propagandized into the position that they alone are exceptional. Thus, anyone that challenges that belief becomes the enemy. It's gotten so bad, that "China might get there first" is the only way to get American politicians to actually stick to a target for more than 4 years.
- fastball 5mo agoAmericans wanted to beat the Soviets to the moon the first time around, and I don't think it was because they'd "been propagandized into the position that they alone are exceptional".
- sourcegrift 5mo ago[flagged]
- singingtoday 5mo agoUSA does bad things too. Any human space exploration is good. If it's a usa or a China rocket, landing on the moon, with humans in it, and safely returning, it's good.