China has named a crater on the far side of the moon after the pioneering Chinese-American scientist Chien-Shiung Wu.
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Wu was known as the “first lady of physics” for her work on nuclear and particle physics, and was involved in the Manhattan Project, which paved the way for the first atomic bombs.
An article shared on Chinese social media by a state-owned aerospace company speculated that Wu must have made some “extremely special and great contributions” that were not known to the public but had “never been forgotten by the nation” to receive the accolade.
“This kind of honour, which will go down in history and has great political significance, will not be given easily to ordinary scientists [especially those of foreign nationality],” the article shared by Chang’e Aerospace Science and Technology (Beijing) last week said.
So far there is no evidence suggesting that Wu has played any role in Chinese defence-related technology.
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Some of her US-educated contemporaries – including Qian Xuesen, who helped lead China’s rocket programme, and Nobel laureate Yang Chen-ning, who gave up his US citizenship in 2015 and played a major role in developing China’s research base – made much better known contributions to the country’s military and scientific development.
The naming of the crater was revealed in a documentary about the Chang’e-6 lunar mission aired by state broadcaster CCTV last month.