SPACE – They have arrived. The rocks from the far side of the Moon, the target of the Chinese space probe Chang’e 6, have returned to our Earth to be studied. The very exact 1,935.3 grams of rubble from our natural satellite landed in their capsule on June 25, before being transported, in a few days, to Beijing, to the headquarters of the CNSA, the Chinese space agency. For the scientists, the adventure has only just begun.
China’s Chang’e 6 Mission: Why the Far Side of the Moon Interests Beijing So Much
The Chinese authorities have invited researchers of all nationalities to apply to receive an extract of rock, and then share the results. What a potential treasure for astronomers, geologists or any lover of mystery: it is simply the first time that a piece of the hidden side of the Moon, the one that we never see and whose characteristics are still unknown, has been made available to human hands. Well… if you don’t come from the United States, as reported by Associated Press.
The American scientific community, in fact, is the only one in the world that does not currently have the right to approach the precious relics. Any application to receive an extract, as the CNSA requests from interested institutes, is doomed to failure. A decision by the Chinese authorities in the midst of a commercial and diplomatic standoff with the United States? Not exactly.
The Wolfe Amendment Blocks (Almost) Everything
It is indeed on the American side that things are initially blocked, all because of the “Wolfe amendment”. Voted in 2011 at the initiative of Republican representative Frank Wolfe, this text prohibits the American space agency (NASA) from committing funds to collaborate with any Chinese agency, without first obtaining the approval of the FBI, the American federal police.
The stated goal of this legislation, which has been widely criticized since its inception, is to slow down Chinese progress in space technology as much as possible. It is not about preventing them from recovering lunar rocks, or even sending rockets to Mars, but rather to counter their military aims. Rockets and intercontinental missiles have a lot in common, and what Wolfe suspected, like the supporters of the text (re-voted every year since) is that the Chinese space program is a screen for their advances in the military domain.
But here it is. Besides the fact that this can have very clear effects on American research itself (as here, if American researchers do not have access to the moon rock), it is particularly frustrating in the case of this mission. In 2019, with the agreement of Congress, NASA had indeed collaborated with China for the Chang’e 4 mission, a lunar robot which is none other than the precursor to Chang’e 6.
NASA, for its part, has shown its great motivation to be able to study these rock extracts. As early as December 2023, it urged its employees to apply to be among the lucky ones, explaining that it had provided the American authorities with all the necessary justifications to authorize this cooperation. But China, which is also playing the openness card, explains that the Wolfe amendment is an obstacle, and therefore refuses the American application. For the moment, therefore, no lunar package for the researchers from across the Atlantic.
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