BEIJING – China’s growing space program has plans to put astronauts on the Moon before 2030, and expand its orbiting space station.
The announcement on Monday comes against a backdrop of rivalry between the U.S. and Russia for new milestones in space. This reflects their competition to influence global events.
This brings to mind the space race that took place between the U.S., the Soviet Union, and China in the 1960s and 70s. However, the U.S. is believed to have a major advantage over China due to its spending, supply chain, and capabilities, at least until further notice.
As part of its renewed commitment to crewed mission, the U.S. hopes to return astronauts to the surface of the moon by the year 2025. This is a result of private sector players like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
At a press conference, the deputy director of China’s space agency confirmed both objectives but did not give a specific date.
They will replace a crew that has been on the orbiting station for six months. The new crew will replace the crew who have been at the orbiting station since six months.
Lin Xiqiang, Deputy Director of China’s Manned Space Agency told reporters during a rare press briefing that the program is running.
He said that “we have a near-Earth space station with a human round-trip transport system” and a process to select, train and support new astronauts. Lin stated that a schedule of two crewed mission per year was “sufficient” to achieve the goals.
In November, the third section of Tiangong’s space station was completed.
Lin stated that a fourth module would be launched at an “appropriate time” to support scientific experiments, and improve the working and living conditions for the crew.
The three astronauts on board the Shenzhou 16 vehicle will briefly overlap with the three who lived in the space station for six months, conducting experiments and installing equipment both inside and outside of the vehicle.
For the first time, a civilian is part of the new crew. The previous crew consisted of all members who were in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the military wing that is part of the ruling Communist Party.
Gui Haichao is a professor from Beijing’s leading aerospace research institute. He will be joining mission commander Jing Haipeng, and spacecraft engineer Zhu Yangzhu, as the payload specialist.
Jing told the media that the mission was a “new stage of development and application” in China’s space programme.
Jing, who is a three-time space flight veteran, said, “We are confident that China’s spring in space science has arrived. We have the confidence and determination to complete this mission.”
China became the third country, after the USSR and U.S.A., to send a human into space in 2003.
China built its space station after being excluded from the International Space Station. This was largely because of U.S. concerns about the PLA’s close ties with the Chinese space program.
The space race is becoming a major area of competition for China and the United States, two of the largest economies in the world and rivals on diplomatic and military fronts. One of them is a one-party state with a high degree of centralization, while the other is a democratic country where the political divide has largely disappeared over issues such as relations with China and exploration of the universe.
NASA astronauts will be sent to the Moon by 2025. They will head for the South Pole, where it is believed that frozen water can be found in permanently shadowed craters.
Both countries are considering plans for permanent crewed base on the Moon, which raises questions about rights and interest on the lunar surface. U.S. space law restricts the cooperation between both countries, and although China has said it welcomes international collaborations they have been limited so far to scientific research.
Li Yingliang said that in a speech delivered Monday afternoon at Jiuquan by the director of technology for the Chinese crewed-space flight agency, China hoped to increase international collaborations, including those with the U.S.
Li stated that “our country has a consistent position: as long as we have the same goal of using space for peaceful purposes then we will cooperate and communicate with any other country or aerospace organization.”
“Personal regret, the U.S. Congress passed relevant motions that prohibit cooperation between the U.S.A. and China in the aerospace industry. “I regret it personally,” he stated.
The U.S., China and other countries have also launched rovers to Mars. Beijing is planning to land a spacecraft to an asteroid to follow in the footsteps of the U.S.
There are other countries and organizations planning lunar missions, including India, the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
China is developing a lunar rover with private sector tenders. Three of these missions involved a crewed mission to the moon.
China’s space program is proceeding in a cautious and steady manner, reflecting China’s massive increase in global economic power since the 1980s.
