After China landed a probe on the dark side of the Moon in secret we must wake up to a threat

When the Apollo 11 spacecraft was orbiting the Moon prior to the first lunar landing, Nasa officials told the astronauts on board to look out for the'lovely girl with a big rabbit'. They were jokingly referring to a story from Chinese mythology in which the goddess Chang'e escapes Earth to live on the Moon with her pet, Jade Rabbit. This week, almost 50 years on from that'giant leap for mankind', the legend of Chang'e resurfaced -- and this time the joke is on the Americans as China announced it had became the first nation to land a spacecraft on the'dark side of the moon'. The robotic probe was named Chang'e 4, a product of China's £3.9 billion a year space exploration project. This week, almost 50 years on from that'giant leap for mankind', the legend of Chang'e resurfaced -- and this time the joke is on the Americans as China announced it had became the first nation to land a spacecraft on the'dark side of the moon' If ever there was a metaphor for the Communist super-power's obsessive secrecy and soaring global ambition, then this audacious secret mission provides it.