TO LAND ON the Moon, as China's Chang'e -4 spacecraft did on January 3rd, is not quite the pinnacle of achievement it once was. Both the Indian government and a well-backed Israeli team of enthusiasts will attempt landings there this year; in 2020 various American companies intend to light out for the lunar provinces, too. But all these non-Chinese efforts will land on the Moon's Earth-facing near side, and thus within the solicitous sight of Earthbound controllers--just as all previous lunar la...
TO LAND ON the Moon, as China's Chang'e -4 spacecraft did on January 3rd, is not quite the pinnacle of achievement it once was. Both the Indian government and a well-backed Israeli team of enthusiasts will attempt landings there this year; in 2020 various American companies intend to light out for the lunar provinces, too. But all these non-Chinese efforts will land on the Moon's Earth-facing near side, and thus within the solicitous sight of Earthbound controllers--just as all previous lunar la...
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