Ah No, Not Again(c)

First US on the Moon, then this... 

And now this:

India’s Chandrayaan-3 did not land at or near the south polar region of the Moon, Chinese scientist Ouyang Ziyuan has argued. With China planning to reach the same region next year, the scientific rivalry between Beijing and New Delhi has heated up. Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the Moon on August 23 at a latitude of 69 degrees, which Indian scientists say is within the region of the lunar south pole. “This is wrong,” Ouyang told the Chinese-language Science Times newspaper last week, according to Bloomberg. “The landing site of Chandrayaan-3 is not at the lunar south pole, not in the lunar south pole region, nor is it near the lunar south pole region.” Ouyang argued that while a latitude of 69 degrees on Earth would be well within the Antarctic circle, the Moon’s smaller axial tilt means that its southern polar region spans between 88.5 and 90 degrees. Under Ouyang’s definition, Chandrayaan-3 landed 619 kilometers (385 miles) away from this region.

Here we go again... now India and China, LOL))) 

It Is Only Proper Today.

To pay a greatest respect to true America's and humanity's heroes--it is 50th Anniversary today of Apollo 11's Moon Landing. An incredible milestone and a magnificent achievement in the times when America did produce outstanding engineers (yes, Von Brown did become an American of sorts too) and romantics. We all remember "A giant leap...". This is for you, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Even "enemies" applauded you in admiration half-a-century ago.

Congratulations To China And POTUS.

If you haven't heard, China just scored an important lunar exploration first. 

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese space probe successfully touched down on the far side of the moon on Thursday, China's space agency said, hailing the event as a historic first and a major achievement for the country's space program. The Chang'e-4 lunar probe, launched in December, made the "soft landing" at 0226 GMT and transmitted the first-ever "close range" image of the far side of the moon, the China National Space Administration said.

Congratulations to Chinese space program! In related scientific news, President Donald Trump made a fascinating discovery:

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump seemed to misstate the former Soviet Union's involvement in Afghanistan on Wednesday with a convoluted account that sparked ridicule on Twitter. "Russia used to be the Soviet Union. Afghanistan made it Russia because they went bankrupt fighting in Afghanistan," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. "The reason Russia was in Afghanistan was because terrorists were going into Russia. They were right to be there."

In a single statement Trump (in full accordance to wave-particle duality) made a correct and wrong statements. Trump, certainly, tries to justify US withdrawal from Afghanistan and he is absolutely correct in stating that Islamization of Soviet Middle Asia was a major factor in USSR invading Afghanistan. What Trump gets wrong, however, Afghan War didn't bankrupt USSR--an idea pushed by loser Gorbachev who constantly tries to justify him being, well, a loser--nor was this war in its effects anywhere near of post-Vietnam syndrome in US. But at least part of the Trump's statement is true. Some progress.