Rocket launch marks big step in building China’s lunar infrastructure

Queqiao-2 will relay data between Earth and Chinese spacecraft on the far side of the Moon.

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[RickRoyLeonPrisZhoraRacha]

Consider that if we did live in such a cooperative paradise moon exploration might not have happened at all. Records of the JFK administration show that he did not care particularly about space at all - he just didn't want to lose to the Russians. I don't think that much has changed in sixty years. Human fear, envy, and greed has pushed us for millennia and will continue to do so.

In other words, I think there's an efficient frontier between cooperation and competition that results in the greatest progression for humanity as a whole. While I too would much prefer for astronauts and taikonauts to land together on the moon, I'd rather them land separately than not at all.

Friendly competition is good. But this is about resource and strategic dominance.