It is interesting to stop for a moment and think about how China has managed to close the gap that separates it from the United States in terms of spatial development. The Asian giant managed to send a person into space on its own rocket in 2003, 42 years after the feat of NASA astronaut Alan Shepard aboard Mercury-Redstone 3 (or Freedom 7).
By then, the Americans had walked on the Moon in six different missions in the hands of the Apollo program, had their own reusable spacecraft and, along with other countries, were actively involved in the International Space Station. But Beijing, though it was far away, was aiming to become a space power capable of rivaling Washington.
The challenge of landing on the moon
Over the years, and thanks in part to a cooperation agreement with Russia, China continued to develop its manned space program, built its own launch system, launched probes and rovers to the Moon and Mars, and set up its own space station. in orbit, to name a few examples. The next step is to put taikonauts for the first time on the moonvery close to the return of the United States to the satellite.
An important reference in China’s space conquest roadmap comes from Lin Xiqiang, the deputy director of the Asian country’s Manned Space Agency. Lin, according to the Associated Presshas indicated during a press conference that they plan to complete the first manned moon landing before 2030, that is, about five years after NASA’s Artemis III, planned for 2025.
“Overall goals are to make China’s first manned landing on the moon before 2030, carry out scientific exploration and related technology demonstrations on the lunar surface, develop a displacement system and a short-term stay system for crews, and develop integrated human-robot tests. and other key technologies.
The head of the Manned Space Agency has said that his taikonauts will walk on the moon, collect soil samples from the landing site and do some scientific research on the moon’s surface. The objective, he points out, has to do with the exploration of deep space, a possibility that will open the door to the study of the origin and evolution of the Moon and the solar system.
The three taikonauts of the Shenzhou-16 mission launched this week to the Chinese space station
Although Lin does not say so, there is no doubt that the possibility of a country reaching our satellite with its own means translates into an important show of force compared to other countries in the world. As is well known, the fight for space supremacy involves reasons that go beyond the scientific and can be presented as an advantage at the military level in different scenarios.
However, China’s space ambitions also leave many doubts, especially if we take into account the short deadlines it has set. It cannot be denied that the country has achieved many tangible goals, but there are not too many details about the set of space elements (launch system, lander, etc.) that will be part of the first Chinese moon landing. Elon Musk, for his part, has said on Twitter that China’s space program “is much more advanced than most people realize.”
The Long March 9 system, which is thought to rival SpaceX’s Starship, may not be ready on time. The first flight test would take place between 2030 or 2033, deadlines that do not match the objectives set by Lin. For now, he has to wait to find out how the Asian country’s space projects will evolve, because we may be in for a surprise. The United States, for its part, is seeing how the costs of the Artemis Program have skyrocketed 6,000 million dollars above what was projected.
Images: CNSA | Alexander Andrews | NII
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