A few days ago, the Chang'e-6 return capsule has successfully landed at the predetermined location in Inner Mongolia, and this lunar exploration mission has attracted much attention around the world.
Chang'e-6 brought back a total of 1,935.3 grams of samples from the back of the moon, because no country has successfully landed on the back of the moon, let alone collected samples, so this batch of lunar samples is very popular in the world, in addition to the distribution of domestic scientific research institutions, the mainland will also cooperate with Russia, Pakistan, Germany, Italy and other countries to carry out cooperative research.
In response, a NASA spokesman complained that China did not invite the United States to participate. In this regard, Bian Zhigang, director of the China National Space Administration, said that China has always been open to cooperation and exchanges with the United States in the field of space. However, the "Wolf Clause" of the United States hinders Sino-US space cooperation, which is the source of obstacles. If the United States really wants to be able to carry out normal space exchanges with China, it should take concrete measures to remove obstacles.
After the failure to ask for lunar samples, the Americans began to play with themselves again. According to the South China Morning Post, an English-language media outlet in Hong Kong, "China and the United States are discussing how to protect Armstrong's footprints on the moon, as well as other traces left by the first humans to land on the moon, such as the American flag planted by American astronauts on the moon, and the ownership of minerals, a Chinese researcher recently revealed." ”
As early as 2020, then-U.S. President Donald Trump signed the "One Small Step to Protect Human Space", a domestic law to protect the historical relics left by the United States on the moon during the "Apollo" moon landing. The law only applies to a few companies that work with NASA.
In fact, this move by the US side is not to express dissatisfaction with the issue of "unallocated lunar soil", according to the international practice during the period of discovery, the islands in the ocean belong to whichever country the navigator discovers. In the 21st century, China and the United States are about to usher in the "Age of Discovery" oriented to the universe, and the Americans' proposal to protect a footprint on the moon may also be a continuation of the early Western colonial thinking.
As the deputy chief functional engineer of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said, this is a very interesting thing, when you are strong, someone will ask you for coordination, and no one will ask these questions before. When the moon landing was only the exclusive technological capability of the United States, he did not have to think about who owned the minerals on the moon or who would destroy their historical sites.
In addition, as the only satellite on the earth, the lunar exploration project will also become one of the development directions of the military field in the new era.
In recent years, the military level of various countries in the world has continued to rise, and the current military strength of the United States has become somewhat stretched to maintain its status as a "world policeman." As early as 2004, when George W. Bush was in office, the United States proposed a constellation plan, one of which was to return to the moon in 2020.
Due to financial and other constraints, this plan has obviously failed, and the return to the moon program can be said to have been repeatedly postponed, but the United States still has no intention of abandoning the program. Now that China is leaving the United States behind in the field of lunar exploration, China's manned landing on the moon is just around the corner, which also worries the United States, so it has to use the achievements of 50 years ago to "declare sovereignty".
China did not respond directly to the U.S. initiative to "protect relics," but it made clear its position that the moon belongs to all mankind and should not be considered private property by any single country. China advocates that all countries should explore and utilize the lunar resources in an equal and rational manner.
Although China has not responded positively to the U.S. demand for "heritage protection," it has made clear that it is telling the U.S. that it should abandon the colonial mentality and that it is unacceptable to claim an area of the moon for itself with a footprint from 50 years ago.
According to relevant information, both China and the United States have used the Sakelton crater at the south pole of the moon as a potential site for establishing a lunar base. Because based on previous detections, scientists from both countries have predicted that there may be water in the area.
"If China is the first to reach the moon, then China has the right to deny U.S. access, which would hinder U.S. exploration of the moon," NASA said. "There is a big question mark over whether China will actually do what the United States has said, but the United States will certainly be the first to arrive, as they say, and will deny entry to other countries."
It is time for the United States to correct its attitude towards exploring the moon, because China's exploration of the moon is aimed at promoting the development of human civilization as a whole, not targeting a single country. In-depth cooperation between China and the United States in the field of lunar exploration will not only bring benefits to both countries, but also bring benefits to all mankind, but the first thing the United States needs to do now is to revoke the "Wolf Clause".