Skip to content

December 29, 2011

Red Moon Rising: China Plans a Manned Lunar Landing

Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

What’s the Big Idea?

China has just made its intentions clear. According to a recently released white paper, it is now official Chinese policy to launch the country’s own space station and put an astronaut on the moon by 2020.

According to former astronaut and second generation Chinese American Leroy Chiao, Sino-American relations in space have been basically non-existent. So what has the U.S. risked by not cooperating with the Chinese? According to Chiao, “we gave them motivation to develop their own capability. They developed a very capable rocket system, very capable spacecraft. And if we don’t cooperate with them in the future, they’re going to develop more capable systems.”

Watch the video here:

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Follow Daniel Honan on Twitter @Daniel Honan

Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Related

A detailed, colorful brain visualization with intricate patterns of green, blue, and yellow on a dark background.

The most detailed brain map ever

Scientists have created a magnificent portrait of every connection among neurons in a fruit fly’s brain.

Animated characters observe a family walking in a snowy scene through a viewing screen, inside a control room.

Everyday Philosophy: Is there such a thing as a “negative emotion”?

There’s little more infuriating in the world than being told to “calm down” when you’re in the midst of a simmering grump.

wormholes

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Is antigravity even possible?

Humans, when we consider space travel, recognize the need for gravity. Without our planet, is artificial or antigravity even possible?

World map highlighting the Brandt Line, dividing the Global North and Global South across continents.

The Brandt Line gave us the Global North and South. It needs an update.

In 1980, Willy Brandt drew a line across the map that still influences how we think about the world.

Collage with a rocket launch, raised hand, SpaceX text, blueberries, and circuitry against a gray background with "THE NIGHT CRAWLER" text—echoing the intense atmosphere of chip wars.

Inside the world’s most important company

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Up Next

2011, The Year in Ideas

We survey the groundbreaking ideas of 2011 from experts such as Daniel Kahneman, Ray Kurzweil, Peter Diamandis, Sal Khan, Daniel Burrus, Michio Kaku, Steven Pinker and many others.