On May 3, the mainland's Chang'e-6 was successfully launched, marking a new stage in the mainland's aerospace industry. The Chang'e-6 mission is scheduled to last 53 days, compared with 8 days more than 50 years ago, when the U.S. Apollo 11 traveled from Earth to the moon and back in just eight days.
Why is there such a big time difference between the two? It contains the differences in the aerospace development concepts and technical routes of the two countries.
Chang'e-6 has an arduous task and has achieved many gaps
The Chang'e-6 mission can be said to be very arduous, it must not only achieve a flight around the moon, but also achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface and sample return. In particular, the landing site chosen by Chang'e-6 this time is in the Moon's South Pole-Aitken Basin, which is the largest impact basin on the Moon, and no probe has ever successfully landed.
The complex terrain and poor lighting conditions in the south pole of the moon put forward very high requirements for landing and sampling. It can be said that the Chang'e-6 mission is unprecedentedly difficult, and if successful, it will fill many gaps in the mainland's lunar exploration.
Different from the lunar exploration of the United States and the Soviet Union, Chang'e-6 has a long-term vision this time, with the goal of systematically carrying out the exploration and utilization of lunar resources, and its scientific significance will far exceed that of early lunar exploration. Due to the arduous task and the need for detailed implementation in stages, the total time reached 53 days.
The U.S. Apollo 11 mission was simple, focusing only on political effects
By comparison, the U.S. Apollo 11 mission 50 years ago was too simplistic. At that time, the United States and the Soviet Union were in the period of space race, and the only goal of Apollo 11 was to make American astronauts the first to land on the moon, so as to demonstrate the superiority of American space power and political system.
The mission to the moon was carried out in a hurry, and the American astronauts stayed on the surface of the moon for only 21 hours, covering a distance of only 2 kilometers, and carried out very limited scientific exploration. Arguably, Apollo 11 was a political show, with the goal of defeating the Soviet Union and gaining public attention, rather than conducting in-depth scientific exploration of the moon.
Because of the simplicity of the mission, the United States can take a more aggressive approach and let the spacecraft depart and return quickly, with a total time of only eight days. In fact, this haste led to a number of accidents on the return, which almost led to tragedy.
Chang'e-6 focuses on down-to-earth international cooperation, while the United States focuses on political performance
Prior to the launch of Chang'e-6, the mainland also invited representatives from 12 countries, including Pakistan, Italy, and France, to witness it, reflecting the concept of openness, transparency, and mutually beneficial cooperation in China's space industry.
And the American Apollo 11 50 years ago was more like a one-sided political performance. The United States advertises its "great leap for all mankind" without inviting other countries to participate. This shows the essential difference in the development concepts of the aerospace industry of the two countries.
Chang'e-6 has a long-term layout, and the United States Apollo has a short-term sprint
The mainland's development of aerospace is a long-term and systematic project. From Chang'e-1 to Chang'e-6, the mainland has been exploring the moon for more than 15 years, accumulating a wealth of lunar scientific data. Lunar exploration moves from orbital flight to soft landing, from front to back, with the aim of laying the groundwork for the future development of lunar resources.
The sprint development of the United States that year terminated the Apollo program after the political goal was achieved. Now, if NASA wants to land a man on the moon again, it needs to start all over again, in contrast to the continent's concept of sustainable development.
The fundamental reason for the huge time difference between Chang'e-6 and Apollo 11 is the difference in the development philosophy and technical route of the space industry of the two countries. The mainland adheres to independent innovation, openness, cooperation, and sustainable development, and will eventually make greater achievements in the aerospace field and realize the grand dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
First, the development momentum of China's aerospace industry is strong and the prospects are broad. In the more than 40 years since reform and opening up, the mainland's aerospace industry has developed rapidly and has become fully capable of launching various types of carrier rockets and carrying artificial satellites and probes.
In the future, the mainland will continue to increase investment, adhere to independent innovation, successively complete major projects such as the space station and Mars sample return, and continue to make new breakthroughs in manned spaceflight, deep space exploration, and satellite applications.
Second, the U.S. aerospace competitiveness has declined, and further investment is urgently needed. In recent years, NASA has faced budget constraints and slow progress in space research and development. Since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, the United States has still not been able to achieve a domestic manned launch capability.
In the future, the United States must increase capital investment and accelerate the pace of research and development, otherwise its space leadership will be further challenged. Unlike the "Apollo era" in the United States, the United States is currently facing a profound transformation in its space industry.
Third, the two countries may carry out more cooperation in the field of space. At present, space resources are becoming increasingly scarce around the world, and environmental challenges continue to intensify. China and the United States may carry out practical cooperation in the peaceful use of space, the development of space resources, and the response to climate change, and share the achievements of human spaceflight. On the basis of existing cooperation, the two sides can promote the development of mutual visits to space stations and joint deep space exploration. There are broad prospects for China-US space cooperation.
Fourth, China will make greater contributions to the peaceful use of space by mankind. China is a responsible major country and will actively carry out international space exchanges and cooperation for the purpose of peace.
China advocates global space governance with equal participation, common development and win-win cooperation among all countries, and makes due contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind. China's space industry will surely benefit human society and promote global development and progress.
China and the United States have differences in the field of aerospace, but there are broad prospects for cooperation. China will continue to develop and expand its space industry, and make due contributions to the peaceful use of space and the building of a space community with a more open attitude. We firmly believe that on the journey of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, China's aerospace industry will continue to write a new glorious chapter.