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Comment about the relation between the CE-3 and LADEE mission

Is it really true that Chang’E-3 might jeopardize LADEE, and is this something that happened because the Chinese planners were happy to disrupt LADEE, or was it because of a lack of exchange between NASA and China?

I am a young scientist in China. I am surprised the strange idea about the relation between CE-3 and LADEE. As we know, China has launched CE-1 in 2007, and CE-2 in 2010. CE-3 is planned to be launched before the end of this year. The development of CE-3 has experienced a long time since 2009. This news have been released very early.

I would rather to consider the question from NATURE Boston as a joking. China is developing its own lunar exploration program since 2004. CE-3 will realize the first soft landing on the Moon after Apollo era. In addition, CE-5 will realize the robotic sampling on the lunar surface and return to the Earth five years later.

As a member of lunar scientist community, I am happy to find that China's lunar mission brought new data to the scientists. These new data will benefit our research and improve our understanding of the Moon. For example, we use the CE-1 and CE-2 data to publish the first microwave map of the complete Moon. These microwave maps give us a new window to understand the physical properties of the lunar surface.

For the same feeling, I am happy to look forward the success of LADEE. I am very interested the mechanism of lunar dust movement. I hope to have chance to use the LADEE data to study the lunar dust. Congratulation for the successful launch of LADEE.

Anyway, CE-3 and LADEE are two independent lunar mission. They have very different science goal. Most of the misunderstanding for CE-3 is caused by the rare reports written in English. If you have chance to read report in Chinese, you will find that the information about CE-3, also China's lunar exploration program, was released in everyday's newspaper and TV. The strange idea like as Nature Boston will be reduced.

The Moon is our common objective for the human beings. Scientists communication should be encouraged. Any political disturbance should be avoided. We should look on the success of US and China with sunny mind. I hope to receive blessing from the community for the CE-3 mission.

For the introduction of China's lunar exploration program, please to read reference: Zheng, Yongchun.,et al., China’s Lunar Exploration Program: Present and future. Planetary and Space Science. 2008, 56: 881-886.

For the science results, please to read reference about CE-1 and CE-2, for example, Yong-Chun Zheng, etal., The first microwave map of the complete moon: the role of local time in global imaging. ICARUS, 2012,(219): 194-210.

Contact the author: zyc@nao.cas.cn

Yong-Chun Zheng, Ph.D, Associate Research ScientistKey Labratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, A20, Datun Rd, Chaoyang, Beijing, 100012, China