"We are in a space race": Nasa warns of Chinese ambitions on the moon

Created: 01/03/2023, 12:45 p.m

By: Tanya Banner

The moon is more in focus in space travel than it has been for a long time.

(Archive image) © Patrick Pleul/dpa

NASA wants to put people on the moon again, China also wants to land on the moon.

Warning voices can be heard from the USA.

WASHINGTON DC – The US space agency Nasa is on its way back to the moon.

With the successful completion of the "Artemis 1" mission, in which a space capsule orbited the moon, the focus is now on the return of humans to the moon: The "Artemis 2" mission, which is currently planned for 2024, aims to Let the crew orbit the moon, the first landing of humans on the moon since 1972 is planned for 2025 at the earliest.

But just like in the space race in the 1960s, the United States is not the only nation aiming to reach the moon.

China has pledged to land humans on the moon for the first time by the end of the decade.

In the past, the country's space program has made some important advances - such as landing a rover on the far side of the moon and building its own space station, occupied by a long-term crew.

USA and China in the “space race”: who will reach the moon first?

In view of these developments, Nina Armagno of the US Space Force warned last month: "It is absolutely possible that they will catch up and overtake us." At an event in Australia, she emphasized the developments surrounding the Chinese space station: "The progress The ones they've made are amazing - amazingly fast."

The moon - a celestial body, many facets

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Nasa is now also sounding the alarm: "It's a fact: we're in a space race," explains Nasa boss Bill Nelson in a

interview.

"And it's true that we'd better be careful that they don't go to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research.

And it's not out of the question that they'll say: 'Stay out, we're here, this is our territory.'”

To reinforce the point, Nelson cites a terrestrial example from the South China Sea of ​​disputes over the Spratly Islands: "If you doubt that, look at what they did to the Spratly Islands." , emphasizes Nelson, who had already made similar allegations against China in July 2022.

NASA's moon program: Any mistake could help China

The US is currently doing well when it comes to moon landings: the "Artemis 1" mission was successful, and the US Congress has provided NASA with sufficient funds for the important moon missions.

But every mistake and every problem could mean that Chinese space travel catches up, because NASA is planning with systems and equipment that are still in the development phase - for example, the "Starship" from SpaceX is to be used as a lunar module, which has never been done before flown in earth orbit.

Even the space suits for going to the moon do not yet exist.

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Former Nasa astronaut and ISS commander Terry Virts told Politico what China is planning: "They want to be the dominant power on Earth, so going to the moon is a way to show that their system works.

If they beat us going back to the moon, that shows they're better than us."

China's moon ambitions are making the US nervous

But Virts also sees another security policy aspect: "China can potentially cause harm on the moon," says the Nasa veteran and former Air Force pilot.

“If they set up an infrastructure there, they could, for example, cut off communication.

Being there doesn't make things any easier.

There are real concerns that the Chinese might interfere."

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However, a Chinese spokesman rejected these allegations in a statement: "Space is not a battlefield." China is committed to the peaceful use of space and rejects armament and the arms race in space.

The USA won the first "Space Race" against the Soviet Union

The question remains who will win the new edition of the "Space Race".

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was the leader for a long time, having launched the first satellite and the first human into space.

Ultimately, however, the USA managed to land the first people on the moon in 1969 - the race to the moon was over.

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