The US wants to send astronauts to the moon again, but they’re not the only ones.
In BILD, Nasa boss Bill Nelson (79) warns: “There is a new race to space – this time with China”.
The first NASA astronauts are scheduled to travel to the moon in 2025 – for the first time a woman.
But Beijing’s plans go further: China is planning its own moon base – together with Russia!
► It should be finished in 2035. If that works, taikonauts – as astronauts from China are called – could then carry out experiments on the moon from 2036.
Nasa boss Nelson is not comfortable with this: “We have to be very concerned that China will land on the moon and say, ‘It’s ours now and you stay out.’
The south pole of the moon in particular is hotly contested: water deposits are suspected there that could be used in the future to produce rocket fuel.
Means: whoever dominates the south side of the moon has an important base in space. And possibly the Force.
In any case, Bill Nelson is certain: “China’s space program is a military space program.” He himself was an astronaut in space before he went into politics.
As a politician who otherwise relies on soft tones, Nelson is very clear. He criticizes the technology theft that made it possible for China to take part in the space race: “China is good. But China is also good because they steal ideas and technology from others.”
What military purposes could China pursue in space?
Nelson enraged the BILD question: “Well, what do you think is happening on the Chinese space station? They learn there how to destroy other people’s satellites.”
In fact, China has been researching technologies for years to “catch” satellites with robotic arms or nets and cause them to crash: Supposedly to clean up its own space debris, but in fact satellites from foreign countries could also be attacked in this way.
Photo: dpa
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/der-last-mensch-auf-dem-mond-am-14-dezember-1972-beendete-der-astronaut-gene-cernan- his-mondmis-dee299a910dd4ca69c5780eb61757762-80491550/Bild/16.bild.jpg”/> The last man on the moon: On December 14, 1972, astronaut Gene Cernan completed his lunar missionPhoto: dpa
That’s what NASA is planning on the moon
With the Artemis program, NASA is planning a return to the moon in close cooperation with the European space agency Esa.
► This summer, the first Orion space capsule is to fly towards the moon and orbit it. Orion, half built in Germany, will be unmanned.
► Nasa astronauts will be there for the second orbit of the moon in 2023.
►The third flight in 2025 should bring two people to the moon: a woman, a black astronaut.
The further plans: construction of a gateway station in the orbit of the moon, a village, a launch pad to Mars.