Conquering the far side of the Moon: Breaking down China's historic lunar mission

Welcome to ACCESS Asia. I'm Yuka Hoye. Coming up in this edition, a New Hope for humanity. China hails the success of its historic lunar mission. So what does this milestone mean for the global space race? Welcome back to Britain. King Charles the Third hosts Japan's Oxford educated emperor and Empress on a state visit to the UK and girl power under a hijab. We meet members of a heavy metal band who became the first Indonesian act to play at Glastonbury. China has made history by becoming the first country to bring back samples from the mysterious far side of the moon. The groundbreaking Chang E 6 mission comes five years after the country first landed a spacecraft on the moon's dark side. Since then, China has made steady advances, landing a Rover on Mars and building its own space station. For more on what the latest achievement means for the global space race, let's bring in Martin Barso, professor of Astrophysics and space Science at the University of Leicester. Thank you for speaking to us, Martin. It's a great pleasure. Now, first of all, just how significant a milestone is this then for space science, this is a real first. We, we have recovered samples from the moon before, but this is the first time that any agency anywhere in the world has actually brought them back from the far side of the moon. That's the side of the moon that we can't see from the Earth. They're likely to be really quite different. When when you look at the moon from the Earth, you'll see that a lot of the moon's surface looks very smooth. And historically, those areas were called seas because nobody understood what they were actually made-up of. In fact, they're planes of rock that have been created by volcanoes deep in the past of the moon. On the far side of the moon, you don't see any of these seas. The terrain is much more rocky and broken up and we think the composition could be quite different to the material that we see on the side of the moon that faces us. And technically, was it a very difficult thing to achieve for China? I mean, it's the, it's the first country to ever land on the dark side of the moon in the 1st place, let alone bringing back samples from it. Well, certainly it's, it's a real technical achievement, real congratulations to the Chinese for doing this. It's hard to land on the moon anyway. We know how to do it technically, but it's still a difficult thing to do. But to do it on the far side, where you're actually out of communication with the Earth, you have to set up a communication system before you can even begin to do it is a real step forward. And why would other countries not want to do the same? I don't think it's that other countries don't want to do it. There's been a lot of discussion about working on the far side of the moon, but China are actually the first country to actually achieve the landing and then collect the samples and take off. It's not so much a race, but there's certainly a sense of people want to do things first. And you mentioned China wanting to do it. I mean, there, there was a will. But what does the mission tell us about China's ambitions for space exploration? On the whole, I think it really confirms how well China are doing in developing their technology. Actually, the whole world knows that China is very ambitious in its space plans. And we've seen the Chinese space program develop over the past 20 to 30 years, improving their achievements, developing their own space station, operating with human beings in space, all things that other countries have done before, but with a clear ambition to actually go further and push the technology beyond what we can currently do. Now, China says that it's open to working with scientists around the world, but there are limits, largely due to the US restricting direct cooperation with China on national security grounds. Are geopolitics then getting in the way of science? Well, well, geopolitics certainly have an an impact. Hopefully when we're working on pure science programs, we can actually develop our collaborations. And in Europe we're actually involved in a lot of collaborations with China. The European Space Agency and the French Space Agency have missions going on with China right now. In fact, just last Saturday, a mission called SVOM was launched by the Chinese with involvement from the French Space Agency and also an instrument built in Leicester on board that particular mission. So we can do these things. It is a little bit of a challenge to work around the politics, but actually working with China at a scientific level is really productive and the Chinese scientists and the agency are very capable, so we get some great results from this work. Martin Barstow, professor of astrophysics and space science at the University of Leicester. Thank you so much for your insight. Nice to be involved. Japan's Emperor Naruhito and his wife Empress Masako have wrapped up an 8 day tour of the UKA. Part of the trip was a pomp filled state visit, the 1st in 26 years by a Japanese emperor and the 1st for King Charles the Third since he announced his cancer diagnosis in February. It was originally planned for 2020 but was postponed because of the COVID pandemic. France intervals. ORDP joins me to talk more about this trip. Hi aha, hi Yuka. So why is this trip so important then for the two countries? Well, the royal and imperial families have had a close relationship for three generations, 150 years of cooperation. In the words of King Charles himself, that does not just mean how much they enjoy tea and talking about the weather. Since Brexit, both countries have strengthened economic and security ties. Take a listen to them. From cybersecurity and sustainable food supplies to defence industrial collaboration, our governments are working together to provide a stable world for future generations. Exchange between our two countries is accelerating in various areas, including politics and diplomacy, science and technology, education on the menu, a Horse Guards Parade, a state banquet with delicious seafood and Peach sorbet at Buckingham Palace. The imperial couple also visited Oxford University, where they both studied in the 80s and they paid tribute to the late Queen who originally invited them over. But as you said, the COVID pandemic got in the and the state visit now comes in the run up to a snap elect in Britain. Although the emperor and the King's roles are symbolic and separate from their country's governments, this is seen as a diplomatic charm offensive. As the BBC's royal correspondent puts it, the soft power of sorbet, soft pad diplomacy there and now. The King and the Emperor also exchanged some lavish gifts, didn't they? Absolutely. The Emperor's gift to the King was touching a lacquer Ware box, a traditional of Wajima city which was hit by a devastating earthquake on New Year's Day. King Charles offered a pair of silver and gold beakers to his guests, along with some fine whisky from a Japanese owned distillery. And that's not all. King Charles was presented with Japan's highest honour, the colour of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, a bit of a mouthful there. And Emperor Naruhito was appointed to the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry in the UK. That's a title that his grandfather, Emperor Showa, was actually stripped off during the Second World War and then restored in the 70s. So you see, the relationship there with between the two nations hasn't always been smooth, but stronger partnership is definitely emerging. And how do the two families compare historically? Well, Japan is the oldest hereditary monarchy in the world that dates back to the 6th century. And the longevity of the British royal family is also impressive. But there are debates as to when it began. Actually, because of the merging of the Kingdom of England and Scotland that was replaced by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The rights to succession are also different. In the UK a male heir has always been preferred, but in 2013 the rules changed and any first born, including a girl, could become a queen or a king. In Japan though, the imperial family is facing an uncertain future because the emperor only has one child, Princess Aiko. And in Japan, girls are totally excluded from the line of succession. Thanks for for all this, it's very interesting. Now they wear hijabs, went to an Islamic school and they are unafraid of making bold statements about female empowerment. The Voice of Batiprot is a heavy metal band of a trio of women in their early 20s whose music has resonated with Indonesian youth. Their songs have millions of streams on YouTube, and now they've become the first Indonesian group to play at the famed Glastonbury music festival in the UK. Their success, though, has been 10 years in the making. As Charlie James tells us. They're young, they're women, they wear hijabs and they rock. Voice of Baci Pro, or VOB is an Indonesian metal trio formed in a conservative region of West Java province. The band has played stages from the United States to France with high octane music and socially conscious lyrics that resonate with young people around the world. It's simply because we care about our environment and what is happening around us. Therefore, we create songs based on what we see, hear, read and experience ourselves. Marshes on vocals and guitar, Weedy on bass and City on drum. All three are in their early 20s and met 10 years ago while still in Islamic junior high school. Bob tackles themes of female empowerment, the environment and pacifism in English, Indonesian and Sundanese, the language of the Western Java ethnic group. The word baci pro comes from the Sundanese word for noisy, just like the music they play. But challenging gender stereotypes in a male dominated society doesn't come easy. We perform metal music in our village. Metal is considered a satanic music not suitable for women, especially women wearing hijabs like us. Their biggest hit addresses the critics head on. As VO BS Star continues to rise, the ladies are letting the music speak for itself. That's all for this edition of Access Asia. Do stay tuned for more World News here on France 24.