# China trying to bring moon rocks back **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 1, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926 "2020-12-01T15:23:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/1 "2020-12-01T15:23:47Z")
so far they have landed there > **[Live coverage: Chinese sample return spacecraft completes docking in lunar...](https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/23/chang-e-5-launch-mission-status-center/)** ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/2 "2020-12-01T16:02:57Z")
Couldn’t they have saved a bunch of money, time and effort and just asked NASA for one of the many rock samples collected back in 1972? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/3 "2020-12-01T16:22:31Z")
NASA gave away moon rocks to various countries but I tend to think China was not on the list Also an intern stole some but they were recovered a week or so later. Edit - 135 countries and 50 states got rocks. Maybe China got some. > **[What happened to the Apollo goodwill moon rocks?](https://phys.org/news/2019-06-apollo-goodwill-moon.html)** > > US President Richard Nixon gave moon rocks collected by Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 astronauts to 135 countries around the world and the 50 US states as a token of American goodwill. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/4 "2020-12-01T16:32:35Z")
We didn’t hear much about it here in the US (at least I don’t recall hearing it), but the Russian space program sent an unmanned probe to the moon that brought back soil samples. In 1970. [Luna 16 - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_16#:~:text=Luna%2016%20was%20a%20landmark,27cm%20was%20sent%20to%20Britain). They did it two more times in 1972 and 1976 > **[Luna 20](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_20)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Luna 20 was the second of three successful Soviet lunar sample return missions. It was flown as part of the Luna program as a robotic competitor to the six successful Apollo lunar sample return missions. > Luna 20 was placed in an intermediate Earth parking orbit and from this orbit was sent towards the Moon. It entered lunar orbit on 18 February 1972. On 21 February 1972, Luna 20 soft landed on the Moon in a mountainous area known as the Terra ... > **[Luna 24](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_24)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Luna 24 was a robotic probe of the Soviet Union's Luna programme. The last of the Luna series of spacecraft, the mission of the Luna 24 probe was the third Soviet mission to return lunar soil samples from the Moon (the first two sample return missions were Luna 16 and Luna 20). The probe landed in Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises). The mission returned 170.1 g (6.00 oz) of lunar samples to the Earth on 22 August 1976. > Luna 24 was based on the Ye-8-... I think this would be the first returned lunar samples by anyone since then. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/5 "2020-12-01T17:06:54Z")
This will serve no direct practical benefit whatsoever. We’ve learned as much as we can from moon rocks. But I wish them luck, because efforts like this spur scientific and technological development, and if nothing else, it’s not actively destructive like the other big driver of technology is. Besides, everyone knows that ground-up moon rocks make a great portal conductor. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/6 "2020-12-01T17:19:27Z")
Well, nobody should be surprised if we find this mission establishes a man made Chinese territory of piled rocks in the South Sea of Tranquility. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/7 "2020-12-02T07:50:51Z")
People are saying that the actual purpose of the trip is to build the Luna-side portal then bring rocks back to Terra so the Terra-side portal is not just made of moon rocks but is also entangled due to using the same rocks; this will result in an efficiency of nearly 300 vreebles and perhaps more if the Potrzebie effect can be reduced within the Cowznofski parameters. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/8 "2020-12-02T11:28:45Z")
I wish China all luck in their endeavor. The more countries have an advanced space program, the better. I have heard India is planning a lunar rover - more power to India too. One thing that never fails to amaze me is that the US did all this back in the 60s and 70s. With today’s technology, many countries are still struggling to put a lander on the moon, much less put people there or get rocks back. NASA was (and remains) truly prodigious. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/9 "2020-12-02T12:00:11Z")
The US are sending people to the moon in 2024. They started assembling the rocket this week. > **[SLS: Nasa 'megarocket' assembly begins in Florida](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55070302)** > > Nasa has stacked the first pieces of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. As also reported in the other thread I’m desperate to popularise: [The Great Ongoing Space Exploration Thread - #16 by Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/16) ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/10 "2020-12-02T12:32:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This will serve no direct practical benefit whatsoever. We’ve learned as much as we can from moon rocks. > > But I wish them luck, because efforts like this spur scientific and technological development, and if nothing else, it’s not actively destructive like the other big driver of technology is. > > Besides, everyone knows that ground-up moon rocks make a great portal conductor. What practical benefit did the Apollo moon rocks or Russian ones serve? It seems like your second paragraph would apply equally to the China program. Your 3rd paragraph is interesting but will not result in a working nether portal. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/11 "2020-12-02T12:54:25Z")
The discovery of water on the moon is of recent origin, and to my understanding the Apollo moonrocks told us nothing about the presence of water on the moon. Indian Chandrayaan discovered polar water on the moon. The Chinese also recently discovered a “gel-like substance” that too was never seen before. It is not like the Apollo rocks have told us all there is to know about the moon. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/12 "2020-12-02T13:04:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This will serve no direct practical benefit whatsoever. We’ve learned as much as we can from moon rocks. Can we really say that with such confidence? We’ve only sampled a tiny fraction of the moon’s surface. We’re still learning plenty from Earth rocks in our own backyard. > [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > The US are sending people to the moon in 2024. They started assembling the rocket this week. SLS is going to be an enormous boondoggle. It’s made from Space Shuttle parts with Space Shuttle management and 1960s acquisition models, and is getting quickly obsoleted for all but the heaviest lift missions by Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy (though the latter is not human rated. But it could be.) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/13 "2020-12-02T13:15:23Z")
I find it depressing that, after 50 years, we’re still at the “bringing back moon rocks” stage of manned space exploration. Really?! How exciting. 😞 ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/14 "2020-12-02T14:08:46Z")
You know what they say: if you volunteer for a Mars mission, and if you make it there alive, your reward is you have to live on fucking Mars. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/15 "2020-12-02T17:51:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This will serve no direct practical benefit whatsoever. We’ve learned as much as we can from moon rocks. What an incredibly, profoundly stupid thing to say. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/16 "2020-12-02T21:44:37Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Well, nobody should be surprised if we find this mission establishes a man made Chinese territory of piled rocks in the South Sea of Tranquility. Yeah, but those 9 dashes are going to be some of the biggest things ever drawn on a map. Far yuger than the USA could manage. In all seriousness, the Chinese are embarked on a great voyage of many missions to interact with the Moon. They’ll invent a lot of tech, do a lot of great deeds, and at least their part of humanity will gain a lot of science. And they’ll suffer their fair share of expensive failures and probably fatalities along the way. We managed to have the last Space Race during a Cold War but much shared good came of it. Here’s hoping humanity can pull that off at least as well this time around. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/17 "2020-12-02T21:48:12Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > What an incredibly, profoundly stupid thing to say. True. We don’t yet know why moon rocks take longer to fall to the surface of the moon than similar sized rocks do on earth. Earth needs more moon rocks! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/18 "2020-12-02T21:51:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > In all seriousness, the Chinese are embarked on a great voyage of many missions to interact with the Moon. They’ve also got an orbiter and lander on it’s way to Mars. That is bound to be more interesting than some more moon rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/19 "2020-12-02T21:55:22Z")
During their launch webcast, they actually made their plan fairly clear: the rocks they’re collecting are from a region that Apollo didn’t sample, and they were hoping to trade rocks with NASA. Both space programs then get something they didn’t have before. China did get a small goodwill lunar sample, but I’m not sure it was enough for scientific work. If they can return kilograms, it may mean they can trade for comparable amounts of Apollo samples. NASA itself still has hundreds of kilograms of pristine samples. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926/20 "2020-12-04T04:55:42Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > This will serve no direct practical benefit whatsoever. We’ve learned as much as we can from moon rocks. > > What an incredibly, profoundly stupid thing to say. You do realize you’re talking to an actual genuine scientist in the relevant field, right? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-trying-to-bring-moon-rocks-back/926926.md?page=2)