neubejiita Posted December 16, 2013 China has landed on the moon. This is only an unmanned probe, but will we see men landing on the moon in the future? America have abandoned the moon, but at least China want to mine the moon and bring back mineral wealth to help build their empire. What do you think? They are playing catch up with the USA, but they could surge ahead if valuable minerals are found. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25393826 0 Share this post Link to post
Average Posted December 16, 2013 Well, if there is any country that would rape the moon for profit it would be China. I live here and it seems that these days money is the sole reason for existence... Yay the future... 0 Share this post Link to post
AndrewB Posted December 16, 2013 Are there people that actually believe that going to the moon is profitable? 0 Share this post Link to post
Creaphis Posted December 16, 2013 There's no mineralogical wealth in the moon because it lacks the liquid water and tectonic activity that you need for minerals to be concentrated into veins worth mining. Also, the idea that mining on the moon and shipping the material to earth could be cost-effective is hilarious. It makes me wonder if the Chinese really know what they're doing. Then again, I'm happy that we as humans haven't forgotten about that rock, and who knows, maybe 500 years from now the moon will be where we build our starships, since its gravity well is easier to escape. 0 Share this post Link to post
GreyGhost Posted December 16, 2013 neubejiita said:They are playing catch up with the USA, but they could surge ahead if valuable minerals are found. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25393826 Finding exploitable quantities of lunar water would be a good starting point. That would provide them with fuel for exploration further afield (such as the asteroid belt) and a low-g base of operations. AndrewB said:Are there people that actually believe that going to the moon is profitable? I hear there's a cache of 5 million Bitcoins buried at one of the lunar poles in a solid gold mausoleum. :P 0 Share this post Link to post
Nomad Posted December 16, 2013 Congrats, China! I've played enough Kerbal Space Program to know it's nigh on fucking impossible to do. Whatever their intentions, they get some science kudos nonetheless. 0 Share this post Link to post
Clonehunter Posted December 16, 2013 Maybe they'll build nuke launchpads? 0 Share this post Link to post
Maes Posted December 16, 2013 Creaphis said:There's no mineralogical wealth in the moon because it lacks the liquid water and tectonic activity that you need for minerals to be concentrated into veins worth mining. Well, it will be either come to that, or starting World War III over the Arctic/Antarctic for minerals. Perhaps both. 0 Share this post Link to post
Waffenak Posted December 16, 2013 China does everything late that others have done years ago. Masters of copying things 0 Share this post Link to post
Aliotroph? Posted December 16, 2013 If I learned one thing from the Kickstarter vid for Planetary Annihilation it's that the moon is a good place to build mass drivers to blow up cities on Earth. :D 0 Share this post Link to post
Quast Posted December 16, 2013 neubejiita said:but at least China want to mine the moon and bring back mineral wealth to help build their empire. What do you think? I like how the us media sits and speculates that "well what china is actually doing is building nuclear missile silos on the moon." 0 Share this post Link to post
dew Posted December 16, 2013 There's only one way to counter that threat - build nuclear missile silos on Mars. 0 Share this post Link to post
Krispy Posted December 16, 2013 Well, if the US needs 600,000 units of cheap, flimsy moon landers, we know where to go. 0 Share this post Link to post
Clonehunter Posted December 16, 2013 dew said:There's only one way to counter that threat - build nuclear missile silos on Mars. I say we build a full on Mars base. Complete with teleporters. 0 Share this post Link to post
Technician Posted December 16, 2013 Clonehunter said:Maybe they'll build nuke launchpads? No, America will save that little piece of fiction for when Iran starts enriching their own uranium. 0 Share this post Link to post
Quasar Posted December 16, 2013 Ultimately it will all come down to the Euro-American Hegemony vs the Chinese Empire in a race to see who can build a sun-killing bomb the fastest (some kind of device that will cause the sun to burn out or go nova). Then the sheer threat of it being used (total mutual annihilation) will cause the other side to capitulate :P 0 Share this post Link to post
Aliotroph? Posted December 16, 2013 Any civilization capable of building a sun killer will probably be space faring. Annihilation averted! I like how all the guys in Chinese mission control get special space program lab coats. It reminds me of something from a Fallout game. 0 Share this post Link to post
SyntherAugustus Posted December 16, 2013 Aliotroph? said:If I learned one thing from the Kickstarter vid for Planetary Annihilation it's that the moon is a good place to build mass drivers to blow up cities on Earth. :D Sounds like a Zeon thing to do. :P 0 Share this post Link to post
Technician Posted December 16, 2013 BlackFish said:Sounds like a Zeon Zion thing to do. :P Sorry, mandatory. 0 Share this post Link to post
Dragonsbrethren Posted December 16, 2013 Quast said:I like how the us media sits and speculates that "well what china is actually doing is building nuclear missile silos on the moon." Oh no, we'd only have three days to destroy the missiles if China was gonna nuke us! ...not gonna lie, missile silos on the moon sounds fucking awesome until you actually think about it. No wonder the media's having trouble. 0 Share this post Link to post
Kirby Posted December 17, 2013 Creaphis said:. Also, the idea that mining on the moon and shipping the material to earth could be cost-effective is hilarious This. This fact is the first thing I thought and spent a good ten minutes dumbfounded at how they could even think this would be profitable. They'd have to find a cheaper means of space travel in the first place, not to mention that the minerals they bring back would somehow have to be ridiculously high in value. What minerals would they even consider being worth it to attempt mining the Moon in the first place? 0 Share this post Link to post
neubejiita Posted December 17, 2013 Kirby said:This. This fact is the first thing I thought and spent a good ten minutes dumbfounded at how they could even think this would be profitable. They'd have to find a cheaper means of space travel in the first place, not to mention that the minerals they bring back would somehow have to be ridiculously high in value. What minerals would they even consider being worth it to attempt mining the Moon in the first place? Helium 3. That is very valuable. We are running out of helium on Earth, wasting it in balloons and other crap. At least the moon has it in abundance. That is why China wants to go to the moon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3 0 Share this post Link to post
Dragonsbrethren Posted December 17, 2013 I don't feel like digging around right now, but I recall reading something that proved even going there for He3 wouldn't be profitable. 0 Share this post Link to post
bcwood16 Posted December 17, 2013 Not saying they will, but is China starts mining the moon and say it takes off rapidly! Then surly the mass of the moon will decrease and in turn a slight change in the gravitational pull could disrupt our oceans in a drastic way! I bet green peace fanatics will have a field day with that lol 0 Share this post Link to post
Aliotroph? Posted December 17, 2013 I suppose any immediate shift in the moon's mass could be countered by dropping asteroids on it. Perhaps that would be a better way to mine them. A very significant change in the moon's mass (like how it broke up in the 2002 remake of The Time Machine) would screw up Earth's rotation. Bye-bye climate! :D 0 Share this post Link to post
Quasar Posted December 17, 2013 You could mine something the size of the moon for eons and not effectively reduce its mass. The moon is by all standards a small planet. 0 Share this post Link to post
baronofheck82 Posted December 17, 2013 I'm surprised it took them so long. 0 Share this post Link to post
GreyGhost Posted December 18, 2013 Being a Chinese project, there should be a Red Army cheer squad waving patriotic banners - probably as a set of marionettes standing next to the lander. If nobody's seen them yet I'm calling this a fake. 0 Share this post Link to post