"They [Chinese space exploration] may be early. And recent history suggests we might be late."

"This time the goal is not flags and footprints [in returning astronauts to the moon]."

"This time the goal is to stay [sustaining a permanent presence on the moon]."

Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator 

The United States, considering itself the alpha nation in scientific innovation and advances was somewhat chastened and humiliated when it was Soviet Russia, whose own scientific entrepreneurship was considerable enough to enable it to be the first nation on Earth to send a cosmonaut into space to orbit Earth in 1961, advancing space exploration through a 108-minute mission to orbit Earth, making Yuri Gagarin the first human to leave the bounds of the planet.   

 

It took another eight years for the United States to catch up with Russia's space mission, when the Apollo 11 Mission carried three astronauts to the surface of the Moon, resulting in first Neil Armstrong's famous walk on the Moon, followed by Buzz Aldrin's, while Michael Collins remained in orbit. No country has since returned to the Moon. China has developed its own space program and ambitions for the Moon. Although Neil Armstrong planted the American flag during his 2-hour walk on the Moon's surface, the race is now on to see who will plant the next flag. 

 

Buzz Aldrin on the Moon in a photograph taken by Neil Armstrong, who can be seen in the visor reflection along with Earth, the Lunar Module Eagle, and the U.S. flag^.

 

The present era in space travel sees China and the United States in a competition over who will first land humans on the Moon not merely for continued exploration purposes and greater familiarity with its surface and conformations and minerals, but to advance development plans for a permanent presence there, a manned station from which other missions further into the depths of outer space to reach Mars and possibly establish a colony there. 

 

CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen – in the center of the image – peers out the window of the Orion spacecraft on day 3 of NASA's Artemis II mission. The controls over the commander and pilot seats are illuminated in the foreground, but the cabin is otherwise dark to avoid unnecessary glares on the windows.  Image Credit: NASA

China's space mission has already distinguished itself for having landed an unmanned mission on the never-before seen far side of the Moon where a robotic probe programmed to retrieve mineral samples succeeded in bringing them back to Earth for Chinese scientific study identification. China plans its seventh robotic mission to explore the lunar south pole, with its Chang'e 7 space capsule. Chinese astronauts are to revisit that part of the Moon where the Apollo 11 mission landed.

 

In April U.S. astronauts were sent by NASA on a ten-day lunar flyby, doing a figure-8 loop around the Moon and back, then returning to Earth, having flown further and higher than any other manned mission. As a prelude to plans to once again land astronauts on the Moon where both China and the U.S. plan to build nuclear reactors to power the lunar bases they intend to build as space-launch sites. 

 

China's plan is to build outposts around the south pole of the Moon, planning to tap frozen water, hydrogen and helium in that region. China's target for a return with a manned mission has a date of 2030. NASA hopes to beat them at it, knowing it's a long shot, but they plan on returning to the Moon with astronauts in 2028, two years sooner than China. The reality is that China with its centralized control funding projects decades ahead, has been where the U.S. has not yet ventured.

 

And it is the south pole that the U.S. too plans to return to, a competition that may determine, according to which country first reaches its target, which will be able to assume the greater authority over the region. NASA's plan is to launch six-month missions, arranging for a sustained presence. The U.S. spacecraft Orion carried the four astronauts (one Canadian) on the Artemis 11 mission this month. 

 

The lunar robot initiative is part of China’s broader 'AI in steel' strategy—embedding artificial intelligence into physical machines for real-world tasks.

 

Artemis 111 is to be launched next year, to test a lander being developed by SpaceX called Starship, while Blue Origin has another lander in development. Whichever lander is completed will be tested by NASA first. Artemis could be sped up in a new timescale through a recent program overhaul to include more launches to test components, lower risks and gain confidence.

 

China has two programs; crewed missions under the purview of the military, and civilian robotic missions. The Long March 10 is a Chinese government-built rocket, half as tall as a 30-story building, with seven engines at its base. The United States has the jump on China with rocket technology in that China cannot match SpaceX's reusale Falcon 9 rocket. 

 

A new spacecraft called the Mengzhou ('Dream Boat') is being developed by China to carry up to seven astronauts, designed for lunar missions and trips to the Chinese space station, some 450 kilometers above Earth. 

 

The Mengzhou is to carry astronauts to a lunar orbit where a rendezvous with a lander to take the astronauts to the moon's surface will be carried out. Once the Chinese astronauts get to their Lanyue lunar lander, it will turn toward the lunar surface where on landing it will become the astronauts' temporary home, data center and energy source. 

 

Artist's illustration of astronauts on the moon planting a Chinese flag. (Image credit: 3DSculptori/Stock/Getty Images)