China plans to launch three unmanned missions to the moon within the next 10 years, as it seeks to rival the United States in the new era of space exploration.
The official of the Lunar Exploration Center and China Space Program, Liu Jizhong, said that the China National Space Administration – the organization equivalent to NASA – has received approval to send 3 orbital flights to the moon as part of the Chang’e lunar program.
The announcement came a day after China announced that it had discovered a new lunar mineral, through samples retrieved by the Chang’e-5 mission. It was named Changesite-(Y), and the state-run Xinhua News Agency described it as a kind of clear, colorless crystal. It is said to contain helium-3, a type that has been speculated as a future energy source.
China has boosted its ambitions in space in recent years, sending probes to the moon, building its own space station, and setting its sights on Mars, plans that put it in direct competition with the United States.
On the other side of the race, NASA has a rover on the red planet – Mars – and is looking to bring astronauts back to the moon again this decade. Both countries are eyeing lunar minerals with space mining expected to be the next source of tension.
The two sides exchanged barbs in recent weeks, after the postponement of the US Artemis I mission, its first major push to return to the moon in half a century. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has accused China of stealing space technology, and the country has been criticized for space debris.
This comes as China’s lunar exploration program was established in 2004, and launched its first spacecraft three years later. The Chang’e program takes its name from the Chinese moon goddess, and has recently focused on collecting samples from the lunar surface. The Chang’e-7 program will target the moon’s south pole, an area that scientists believe is the best place to find water, and the same area that NASA’s missions target.
On Saturday, Liu said that China aims to build an international lunar research station.