It has to be said that the United States knows how to find a "sense of existence."
Here, China's Chang'e-6 returned to Earth with "lunar back products", and China's aerospace industry was busy distributing lunar soil and starting scientific research work, but the United States sent people to add to the chaos.
With the continuous development of China's lunar exploration program, the negotiating team sent by the United States hopes that China can protect the "historical relics" left by human beings on the moon.
So is there much to worry about in the United States? More than 50 years later, are Armstrong's footprints still there?
Let's find out!
1. Will China's "Jade Rabbit" roll over to the footprints of the U.S. moon landing?
July 20, 1969 was a day that deserved to be recorded in history for all mankind.
Because on the night of that day, for the first time, mankind stood on another planet other than Earth, and left a very historic human footprint on it.
The person who left the first human footprint on the moon was American astronaut Armstrong, who excitedly said: "This is a small step for individuals, but it is a giant leap for mankind." ”
Armstrong's footprints are one of the most important lunar relics in the United States, and they are also known as "key protected relics" in the United States.
So where is this footprint on the moon?
At that time, in order to ensure the smooth landing on the moon, the United States also chose a flat area as much as possible in the selection of landing sites.
So Apollo 11 landed in the southern part of the Tranquility Sea, near the moon's equator.
Let's see where the two "Jade Rabbits" are.
The mainland is on the moon, and now there are a total of two lunar rovers, one is the "Yutu 1" brought by Chang'e-3 in 2013, and the other is the "Yutu 2" brought by Chang'e-4 in 2018.
Among them, the Chang'e-3 landing site is on the front side of the moon, which is the Hongwan area of the moon, and is more than 1,700 kilometers away from the landing site of Apollo 11.
In 2016, the Yutu-1 lunar rover stopped working, and it worked on the moon for a total of 972 days, traveling a total of 118.9 meters on the moon. The main purpose is to probe around the landing site and send back valuable lunar geological data for mankind.
Obviously, "Yutu-1" is very far from the landing point of Apollo 11, and it is impossible to roll over Armstrong's footprints, not to mention that "Yutu-1" has long stopped working and resting.
As for the "Yutu-2", its landing site is on the far side of the moon, and it is even farther away from the Apollo 11 landing site, and it is impossible to run from the far side of the moon to the front of the moon in order to run over the footprints of the United States on the moon.
Therefore, the worries of the United States are completely superfluous, and to put it bluntly, there is nothing to do.
After talking about this question, let's talk about another interesting topic: the footprints of Apollo 11 on the moon have existed for 55 years, and after such a long time, are the footprints still on the moon?
2. Are Armstrong's footprints on the moon still there?
Let's start with the answer: Theoretically, this footprint will always exist.
And not only this footprint, but also other footprints of the Apollo moon landing, as well as traces of the lunar rover, will be present.
The reason is very simple, because there is no atmosphere on the moon, and there is no weathering, so theoretically all traces on the moon can be permanently preserved.
I believe that some friends have discovered the problem, why is it "theoretical"?
Because of some activities on the moon, it is also possible to naturally erase these traces.
For example, if a meteorite hits the moon, in the process, it will cause the lunar soil and dust on the surface of the moon to fly, and then cover some traces around it.
The solar wind also gradually erases the surface of the moon, but the process is so long that it is almost negligible.
In addition, the moonquake of the moon, as well as the thermal expansion and contraction of the lunar surface, can also cause the traces to be erased.
In summary, in addition to meteorite impacts or moonquakes, the remnants left by humans on the moon can be erased "instantly", and the remaining lunar relics left by humans through natural changes will be tens of thousands of years long.
This also means that when the Chinese astronauts land on the moon later, the human relics we left on the moon can also be preserved.
So why does the United States negotiate with China when none of the human relics left by the United States on the moon can be destroyed? Is it idle and have nothing to do?
In fact, the answer is obvious, the United States is very anxious now, because China's lunar exploration program is progressing too smoothly, and in the past, the United States always thought that the lunar resources were his, but now he has no ability to develop lunar resources at all.
On the contrary, China will not only build a lunar scientific research base, but also a manned landing on the moon, with the ultimate goal of building cities, factories, and tourist centers on the moon by 2045.
Although the moon does not belong to any country on the earth, the vast majority of countries do not have the ability to go to the moon.
Therefore, when the United States came to China for negotiations, it also wanted to talk to China about the distribution of resources on the moon.
What the United States means is that even if he can't afford to go to the moon, there must be a part of the moon that belongs to him.
I have to say that what the United States wants is really beautiful, what do you think about this?