The United States and China talk about exploring Moon

The Moon seen in Los Angeles on January 30, 2018 – AFP / Archives

The American and Chinese space agencies dialogue and coordinate to explore the Moon, confirmed Friday Nasa, which must operate in a very strict legal framework imposed by the Congress, fearing the transfer of technology in China. NASA Chief Scientist Thomas Zurbuchen said Friday that the US agency had "talked to China" to make satellite observations of the Chinese satellite Chang & # 39; e 4 landing on the far side of the Moon in 1964. January 3rd.

On Monday, the deputy director of China's lunar exploration program, Wu Yanhua, said at a press conference that China had given NASA the latitude, longitude, and longitude. 39, estimated time of the probe landing for who could observe this historic event with its satellite Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

NASA, in turn, provided the expected orbit of the LRO. Finally, the satellite can not be in the right place at the right time.

The US agency said in a statement that it wished to observe the cloud of dust caused by the impact of the landing with the help of an instrument mounted on the satellite.

"For various reasons, NASA has not been able to adjust the ORL's orbit so that it is in an optimal position to observe the landing, but the NASA is still interested in cloud detection long after the landing, "he said. the agency said.

These observations are useful for future US missions as Washington wants to send back probes and eventually astronauts to the moon. NASA plans to mount a station in lunar orbit until 2026. [19659006] The US satellite will photograph the spacecraft Chang & # 39; e 4 on January 31, announced NASA when to consider it, as he had done for Chang & # 39; e 3 in 2013.

"Nasa and CNSA agreed that any significant conclusions resulting from such coordination should be made public by the global scientific community" when a conference of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to be held in Vienna from 11 to 22 February.

Since 2011, the US law prohibits any space cooperation with China involving "a transfer of technology, data or information with implications for the economy or national security".

NASA indicated that the cooperation was: held in accordance with "government and congressional guidelines" and was "transparent, reciprocal and mutually beneficial".

The cooperation could however go further, said Wu Weiren, the main ideologue of the Chinese Lunar Program, who badured that the United States called for "a few years" to extend China's operation of three at five years old.

For more ambitious cooperation, such as China's long-term international base, "US restrictions Henry Hertzfeld, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, will be a much tougher hurdle to overcome." 19659004] The US Congress is free to change the few paragraphs of this law, approved in retaliation for a series of computer attacks attributed to China.