“A formidable demonstration of force”, greets Alain Cirou, of the magazine “Ciel et Espace”

This is China’s second mission to the far side of the Moon, a region that no other country has ever reached.

Chang’e 6, the probe launched by China in early May, landed on the far side of the Moon on Sunday June 2. She landed in the South Pole-Aitken basin to collect samples. A feat for China which intends to catch up with the American and Russian leaders. How is this a power move? Explanations from Alain Cirou, the editorial director of the magazine Sky and Spaceat the microphone of franceinfo..

franceinfo: What a feat it is to land a space probe on the far side of the Moon ?

Alain Cirou: When we see all those who did not succeed, we say to ourselves that it is a very good demonstration of force. In fact, it’s extremely complicated and you only have to look at the history of the competition that took place between the United States and the USSR in the 1960s to realize that there was a lot of damage from Soviet side to place, even if only robots on the surface of the visible side.

“China succeeds at each stage and we have the impression that we have in front of us a ladder with rungs. We know the number of rungs, we know the arrival date and each rung is successfully passed.”

Alain Cirou, editorial director of the magazine “Ciel et Espace”

at franceinfo

So it is an extremely formidable demonstration of force to succeed in landing on the far side with a relay satellite, which transmits communications between the far side and the Earth, and to operate two machines: the one which will collect in some takes out the samples, and then the one who remained on the ground and who will have to bring us samples of lunar soil. It’s something very complicated and the Chinese have also succeeded on Mars, so we see that they are moving forward very quickly and very strongly.

How do you explain that China is the only country to have achieved this?

I think that first of all they have a very clear program, that is to say we know exactly what the strategy is and what the tools are. The tools are all being prepared.

“The objective is not science, it is the demonstration of what China is capable of taking. First men to the Moon and then to Mars.”

Alain Cirou

at franceinfo

But the plan is very clear, the Chinese moon train is being put together. We see the launchers, we see the moonlanders, therefore the equivalent of the LEM exploration module. We see the manufacturing of the lunar jeep and the spacesuits. The scenario is very clear and the steps are taken one after the other. There are means, there is technology that is there. It’s not just money, it’s not just a decision, a desire, they have the means to achieve their ambitions. I think that in fact the most important demonstration for China is to succeed in 2029. When China celebrates the 80th anniversary of the People’s Republic, it will probably land taikonauts on the south pole of the Moon, face visible and therefore well before the Americans in some way. It’s a bit of a competition. The Chinese said so, which is very curious. They hide nothing even though we were so used to the Soviet Union only communicating successes and hiding failures. There, we see everything that is happening. For the Chinese, [l’objectif]so it’s 2029/2030, we land on the Moon and the final objective, if I may say so, is Mars. Because Mars hasn’t been reached by anyone.

Does that still raise a question of territoriality? ?

It’s obvious, especially since the places to land and stay [sont restreints], because China’s objective is also to install a sort of scientific station at the South Pole, which would be powered by solar energy, by collecting water from the lunar craters of the pole South. Ultimately, there is not much space and the legal status of this place is quite delicate. There are no policemen in space. We have a law of sorts, but it dates from the 1950s, which has not been ratified by most of the stakeholders. So, there is probably indeed a territorial problem. And the first to arrive will have a definite advantage. But I would say that this is in contrast to what is happening right now in the United States with the Artemis program which is experiencing certain difficulties. We can clearly see that Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship, which is supposed to bring men and land Americans on the Moon in 2025, will not hold up. We know that it is in a pocket handkerchief, but the Chinese lunar program once again takes, with this bar crossed, a certain advantage.

What does the dark side of the Moon look like?

I would use Buzz Aldrin’s word when he asked. He said : “This magnificent desolation”, that is to say probably a sinister place, without atmosphere. With the dark sky, it must be very beautiful because we must see the stars perfectly. But all the astronauts who landed on the Moon when they returned took a little coin out of their pocket and said: “Do you realize, this is the Earth?” It’s this size when you hold it out on your fingertip. It’s all blue. That’s where life is, that’s where your friends are, the nearby restaurant, etc. And in fact, the Moon shows you that ultimately, the most important thing, is where we live and where we live. is on Earth.