Conquest of the Moon: NASA is wary of China

According to its director, who spoke in the American media Politico, the competition between the two countries in the space race has clearly intensified in recent months.

Par Le Point.fr

Nasa Director Bill Nelson fears that China’s extremely ambitious plans for space conquest could harm the United States in the years to come, especially to reach the Moon.
© KEVIN DIETSCH / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Published on 02/01/2023 at 20:04

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Lhe United States would be more than ever worried about China’s space conquest projects. In an interview with Politico, NASA Director Bill Nelson warned of China’s growing ambitions in space and especially on the Moon. According to the head of the American space agency, the first of the two countries which manages to reach the most resource-rich places on the Moon will be able to repel its rivals and win a monopoly on its surface.

“We have to be careful what they [la Chine, NDLR] don’t go to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research. It’s not inconceivable that they then say ‘stay away, we’re here, this is our territory,’” Bill Nelson said. According to him, the competition between the United States and China has sharply intensified in recent months and the next two years could prove to be decisive in what he describes as the “race to space”.

Massive investments

In the space of twenty years, China has considerably reduced its lag in terms of space conquest over the United States, but also the European Union and Russia. In 2022, the Chinese space program set up a space station in Earth orbit and mounted several lunar orbit and sample recovery missions. A third phase of the program, aimed at establishing an autonomous lunar research station near the South Pole of the Moon, is planned for 2025.

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In December, the Chinese government presented its vision for a crewed lunar landing, space transport, infrastructure and space governance, the news site also recalls. China announced its goal of landing taikonauts on the Moon by the end of this decade.

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Faced with these advances, it is therefore crucial, according to Bill Nelson, that the United States manage to quickly build a lunar base. NASA hopes that American astronauts will be able to return to the Moon within two years. If the mission is successful, an inhabited lunar colony should be built in the following years.