The Chinese Lunar Program, which includes an unmanned spacecraft to be launched soon, reveals how lofty their goals are: China prestige and power, technological expertise and extraction of valuable natural resources.
China's first lunar lander Chang'e 3 will soon be launched probably on Sunday night. It will travel six days before it arrives and soft-land on the moon. If successful, the Chang'e 3 lander will be the first since the last unmanned spacecraft in 1976. Soon they will also launch a piloted mission, which will be the first after Apollo's last mission in 1972.
The Chinese has been slowly putting up their own space program which includes launchers, manned and unmanned missions to explore the Earth's atmosphere and other planets. Some of its profound investments are being channeled into its lunar space program.
Prof. Ouyang Ziyuan , adviser to the lunar mission from the Department of Lunar and Deep Space exploration, said in his first international interview with the BBC News, that the Chinese have three main goals in the moon. First is to gain technological skill, second, to understand the moon's evolution and compare it with Earth and finally to develop their lineup of astronomers.
Lunar exploration translates to national prestige and power. He said, "Lunar exploration is a reflection of a country's comprehensive national power. It is significant for raising our international prestige and increasing our people's cohesion."
He added, "The Moon is full of resources - mainly rare earth elements, titanium, and uranium, which the Earth is really short of, and these resources can be used without limitation."
Aside from this, the absence of air in the moon could allow the generation of energy by using a belt of solar panels that probably could "support the whole world." Moreover, the helium-3 rich atmosphere could also allow energy to be utilized on Earth to last 10,000 years.
"There are so many potential developments - it's beautiful - so we hope we can fully utilize the Moon to support sustainable development for humans and society," Prof. Ouyang added.
