China Takes One More Step Past America

 The Chinese government has launched an unmanned spacecraft to a previously unexplored part of the moon. Beijing is working to become the first country in decades to reach the moon. The purpose of this mission is to help scientists better understand the satellite and planets beyond Earth. Within the Long March-5 rocket that was sent early on Tuesday morning was four different modules; which are the lander, the ascent vehicle, the service capsule and the return capsule. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) called the launch a success. They further went to explain how the rocket flew for 37 minutes prior to sending the spacecraft on the intended trajectory. A main priority for this mission is to study lunar samples from the moon, these samples would be sent back via the return capsule. The CNSA has acknowledged some challenges to this mission; nonetheless, this mission is anticipated to be a success. Beijing having a successful exploratory mission of the moon of this caliber could give China an advantage on the US satellite systems.  Following the launch of this rocket even NASA scientists have acknowledged the implications of this mission. David S. Draper, the deputy scientist at NASA stated "this is a really audacious mission". China is expanding their arena of influence and research to somewhere that Washington has not explored in decades. A successful mission like this allows the CNSA to have a better understanding of satellites that are orbiting Earth gives them a new perspective on all aspects of these satellites no matter what country uses them. A successful mission would afford Beijing the opportunity to have a different look on these satellites that could shed light on how Washington is using its satellites. This launch shows that China has surpassed the US in yet another aspect by successfully sending a mission to the moon about 4 years prior. Not only does this launch challenge the safety of US satellites, but also, its global hegemony from China that has been vying for global hegemony recently and this is just one more step towards accomplishing its goal.