China's Moon Landing

China Rover Makes Moon Landing

Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Xinshe:

Chang-e III, Dec. 15, 2013. Credit: photo.sina.com.cn

China now joins Russia and the United States with a lunar touchdown.

SpaceWeather.com:

"The six-wheeled, 260-lb rover is equipped with a Chinese-made nuclear battery expected to last for more than 30 years. The rover also has expandable solar arrays to absorb the sun’s energy during the day and retract at night to cover and protect equipment from temperatures of minus 170 degrees Celsius. Onboard sensors include a ground-probing radar, cameras, and a soil sampler."

Luna 24 made the former USSR's last soft moon landing in 1976.

America's final soft landing?

Go back to 1972, when Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt landed on the Taurus-Littrow valley:

Personal Family Note: Harrison "Jack" Schmitt

America should go back.

We should've never stopped.

Technology innovation.

Generational invigoration.

I always wanted to be a space tourist.

Would you "go"?