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China Shoots The Moon
By Paul Midler | October 24, 2007
Hollywood will soon release In the Shadow of the Moon, a documentary presented by Ron Howard, the director of Apollo 13. The film will combine stunning footage from Apollo missions along with more recent astronaut interviews. The trailer suggests it will be an inspiring movie, but what struck me was how patriotism is downplayed. Discussing the world’s response to the achievement of landing on the moon, one astronaut reflected: “Instead of saying, ‘you Americans did it’, everywhere they said, ‘We did it, the human race.’”
Around the time this movie reaches theaters, China’s lunar probe will arrive at the moon. Far from a shared human experience, though, Beijing has made it clear – the purpose of the mission is to increase China’s prestige among nations. Back in the 1950s, Chairman Mao lamented that his country “couldn’t even launch a potato into space”. Not one to milk an opportunity, the Communist Party has invited citizens to request a song that might be broadcast from the moon. I always suspected that if the Chinese ever colonized space, it would somehow involve karaoke. Anyway, top choices include “My Motherland” and “Love Our China”, the sort of numbers meant to evoke deep nationalistic sentiments.
Re-imagined David Bowie lyrics might have been better…
This is ground control to Major Zhang
You’ve really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare
Coincidentally, this month it’s been fifty years since Sputnik, the event that kicked off our space race with the Soviets. The WSJ’s interpretation of the rocket launch is an odd twisting of perceptions - the paper has suggested China’s moon ambitions are directly related to an effort to settle its status relative to Japan. As if China were the sort of country to chase first runner-up prizes. No, I’m afraid the reason has everything to do with America, as some lesser publications have correctly hinted:
NASA’s top officials are clamoring about a new space race to help push the agency into the future. Their effort, expressed in speeches and interviews during the past several months, is fueled by a fear that unless something sparks a public outcry for an invigorated space-exploration program, the United States could lose its global leadership role in the quest for the stars.
China’s launch should be a wake-up call, but America will be hitting the snooze button. It may be a simple matter of “been there, done that”. We put men on the moon forty years ago already - and with less computing power than you’d find in a Sony PlayStation. About the only ones clamoring for a manned moon mission these days are conspiracy nuts who insist we never went to the moon in the first place [For a clip of Buzz Aldrin making his rebuttal, click here].
This week’s event is no Sputnik. A more like Sputnik might be seen at the China games, should China succeed in winning more gold medals than the United States. If China can pull it off – and there is every indication that they might – it would be a far more symbolic event than the broadcasting of some oversentimental serenades from deep space.
Topics: China |
October 25th, 2007 at 12:40 am
HELL YEAH! KNOCK THAT STUPID PUNK OUT!
THANK YOU!!!
October 25th, 2007 at 9:04 am
On the Olympics - yes, I expect the Chinese to get the most medals. The way the Olympics are set up favors the host country (e.g. add lots of sports that the host country is good at). Go look at US medal counts for US/non-US; for example, the US had many more medals in SLC 2002 than 2006.
But considering how much the Olympics cost (heck, I don’t want them coming to my city), I guess that’s fair.
I don’t think that Beijing 2008 will be like sputnik - the Olympics have lost a lot of their luster with professional athletes (OK, the communist athletes always were professional, but Western ones weren’t), the end of the cold war, all the doping scandals (including in other sports), the banality of US TV coverage, etc.
October 25th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Interesting post, like the David Bowie lyric
October 26th, 2007 at 8:35 am
It think it would be ludicrous for China to claim it does it for the human-being. After all, US, Russia and EU have done it already. There is no need to do it if you’re doing it for the human-being.
China does it for herself, i.e., trying to catch up and prove to the world and herself: “we’re also capable of doing it and we’re catching up.”
Someday, when China starts to lead the world in some areas, it will spin it better, I suppose.
By the way, why did the US start the Apollo project in the early ’60s? Did it do it for the “human-being?”
October 26th, 2007 at 9:04 am
G - No shortage of patriotic sentiment in the 1960s, you’re right. But America is an immigrant nation, at the same time. It is made up of people from every nationality. So in that way, the moon really was an acheivement for all. You are right to suggest that China is trying to “catch up”, but it’s not about a race with Japan. And you are also right that they will spin it better going forward.
October 26th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Nobody likes to see China achieve anything. Is this the right attitude?
October 27th, 2007 at 7:53 am
Suppose people in Iran feel the same way about their nuke program.
November 3rd, 2007 at 6:19 pm
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v450/n7166/full/450002a.html;jsessionid=43E589056D666B4A1701A568822A2B21