According to the global network, Chang'e-6 was successfully launched and returned with the soil on the back of the moon, creating a great history of human society. This is the first time that a country has returned samples from the back of the moon, which has immeasurable scientific research value for mankind to understand the lunar environment. CNN, an American media that has always examined China through the lens of the "underworld filter", rarely made a positive evaluation, defining the samples carried by Chang'e-6 as "treasures from afar". James Hyde, a professor of planetary geoscience at Brown University in the United States, defines the Chinese sample as a gold mine and a treasure! He claimed that the international scientists represented by him were very excited about the results of the Chinese mission. It can be seen that the US side is well aware of the value of the Chinese samples and seeks to participate in the research of the Chinese samples. However, the self-imposed restrictions of the US side have blocked the way for American scientists to participate. Regarding this basic fact, the US side is trying to fight back.
NASA spokesman Faith Marco claimed on June 28 that China is cooperating with France, Italy and other countries in the lunar back sampling mission, and China welcomes global scientists to participate in lunar soil research, but China has not issued a direct invitation to NASA.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning directly replied to the US side that the US side seems to have forgotten the "Wolf Clause" and is unclear whether the US government will allow US scientists and institutions to carry out space research cooperation with China. The Wolf Clause was passed in 2011 and got its name from the fact that it was drafted by former U.S. Congressman Frank Wolfe. At that time, the rise of China's aerospace industry was obvious, and the United States, as a pioneer in the field of outer space exploration, was in a narrow mind in order to stifle the iterative process of China's space technology, and banned all exchanges of space technology between China and the United States with the "Wolf Clause". In the 13 years since the passage of the 2011 bill, China's outer space exploration journey has not been hindered by the US side. Tiangong was launched, Chang'e explored the moon, and effective progress was made in the exploration of Mars, Saturn, and the sun.
China has announced that it will achieve a manned landing on the moon by 2030, and according to China's style of acting, the relevant technical reserves for a manned lunar landing may have been basically completed. China has a specific timetable and roadmap for its manned landing on the moon.
With the International Space Station (ISS) out of service, China's Tiangong space station will also become the world's only space station in orbit. The Chang'e-6 returner landed in the predetermined area of Siziwangqi in Inner Mongolia on the afternoon of June 25, carrying a total of about 1,935.3 grams of lunar soil, setting a history for human society to explore the moon. Through the analysis of the composition of lunar soil, it is helpful to determine the geological change process of the moon, the long-term historical evolution and chronology, and determine the economic value of lunar surface development. The elements and properties of lunar soil are expected to promote materials science to achieve unexpected economic results, which is of great significance for the competition between major countries for scientific and technological highlands. This is the background for the US side to forcibly seek a backlash and "shyly" seek the background of China's participation in lunar soil research, knowing that the "Wolf Clause" exists.
However, it is clear that China has shown its sincerity in opening up and cooperating with the world, and the US wants to obtain information on lunar soil while maintaining its hegemonic face, and there is no such good thing in the world that it wants and wants.
There is considerable resistance to the abolition of the "Wolf Clause" in the United States, because it represents the overall intoxication of the American political elite with the "world's largest space power". The clause itself was adopted on the premise that the US side is "highly technologically advanced and must not leak secrets in any way". A considerable part of the political elite in the United States is still unwilling to wake up from this "mentality". On June 25, Chang'e-6 returned to the surface, and on June 30, China's aerospace sent another good news. On the same day, the Hainan commercial space launch site officially announced that it has the ability to carry out the launch. The launch site started construction in July 2022 and will have its first commercial launch in the second half of this year after two years of commercial operation. This information means that China has officially entered the field of commercial space, which has great economic value. This is full of good news for customers such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia who have the funds and the willingness to launch but lack technology, and it will also help China further expand its voice in the entire aerospace industry chain.
In contrast, the United States is in an embarrassing space position. Not only has the "Artemis" program, which intends to compete with China on the moon, been repeatedly postponed and the situation has continued, but the United States has also faced difficulties in the basic round-trip to and from the International Space Station. On June 6, the Starliner jointly developed by Boeing and NASA carried two American astronauts to the International Space Station, and is scheduled to return to the surface on June 14. Due to a series of problems such as thruster failure and helium leakage, the return trip has been delayed, and the two American astronauts have stayed for more than half a month. NASA said that it will not return until the ground test of the thruster technology is completed, and the specific return time and return date have not been determined. It is difficult not to suspect that the various problems that have accumulated in Boeing's long-standing malpractice have affected the quality control of the US aerospace infrastructure. As for the situation in which the United States is unable to seek space cooperation with China, the Chinese side has an old saying that it is to shoot itself in the foot. There is also an old saying in the Chinese side that the bell must be tied to the bell. The hole dug by the US itself still needs to be filled by its own actions.