tech
The tortoise and the hare: will China beat the US in the race back to the moon?
The rival superpowers are ramping up preparations for a crewed lunar landing nearly six decades after the first moon walk
TL;DR
- The US and China are competing to land humans on the moon and establish inhabited bases.
- China's one-party system offers stability for long-term space planning compared to NASA's vulnerability to government changes.
- NASA is partnering with private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin for lunar lander development.
- China has achieved significant milestones, including sample retrieval from the lunar far side and developing advanced lunar exploration technology.
- The competition emphasizes sustained presence and capability over a single landing, with the first nation to establish a presence potentially setting rules for lunar space.
- While the US has legal bans on NASA collaborating with China, European agencies are working with China on lunar missions.
- Both nations aim to use lunar missions to test technology for future Mars expeditions.