The worsening conflict between the world’s two most powerful countries has spread across the globe in recent years, and has now extended beyond the earthly realms into the heavenly realms.
Washington is increasingly wary of the pace of space exploration, as China is deeply embroiled in strategic competition with the United States and moving toward open hostility with other regional neighbors. It’s getting bigger.
The Chinese government has made no secrets about its ambitions, and a string of recent space mission successes shows that its rhetoric is backed up by technological advances.
On Friday, China launched a robotic spacecraft on a round trip to the far side of the moon. This is a technically demanding mission that will pave the way for China’s first manned landing and the construction of a base on the moon’s south pole.of Chang’e 6 aims to bring back samples from the side of the moon that permanently faces away from Earth.
Earlier this week, Beijing’s latest manned spacecraft mission to the Tiangong space station, Shenzhou 18, was launched after China was excluded from the International Space Station.
Among the crew were three ancient navigators, as well as a live fish called the “Fourth Crew.” The zebrafish are part of an experiment to test the viability of large-scale closed ecosystems containing fish and algae that would allow humans to live in space for long periods of time.
But lunar sample collection and zebrafish survivability are not the only focus of China’s space sector.
The pace of China’s ambitions is prompting concerns from the government’s chief rival, the United States, about its geopolitical intentions, in what the NASA chief calls a new “space race.”
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said last week that the United States and China are “effectively in a race” to return to the moon, and worried that China might want to stake a claim.
“We believe that many of their so-called civilian space programs are military programs,” he told members of Congress.
There are concerns over China’s development of anti-space weapons, including missiles that can target satellites and spacecraft that can pull satellites out of orbit.
“At the geopolitical level, China’s space ambitions advance regional and domestic political and military interests,” said Dr. Svetla Ben Itzhak, associate director of the Western Space Scholars Program at Johns Hopkins University. “This raises questions about how China will utilize its space capabilities.”
U.S. Space Force Chief Gen. Stephen Whiting told reporters last week that China’s progress is “a cause for concern,” noting that the number of reconnaissance satellites in orbit has tripled in the past six years.
“It’s the Wilderness, the Wild West.”
Kazuto Suzuki, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Public Policy, says the U.S. and China are certainly competing, but it’s not just about setting foot on the moon like they did during the Cold War. Rather, it’s about finding and managing resources like water.
“It’s a competition to see who has better technological capabilities. China is rapidly catching up. The pace of China’s technological development is a threatening factor. [to the US]” he says.
Suzuki says that although international agreements do not allow nations to monopolize resources on the moon, in reality, “it is the wild west.”
“Generally speaking, China wants to be first in order to have the right to control and monopolize the resources. Once they have the resources, they will have a huge advantage in the future of space exploration.”
The United States and China are leading the development of separate space station programs to the moon. The U.S.-led Artemis program includes plans for the Lunar Gateway, a station orbiting the moon that will serve as a communications and accommodation hub for astronauts, as well as a science laboratory.
However, Americans “have been to the moon, so they’re not really interested in owning it,” Suzuki said.
“They know it’s not really a habitable place, and they’re more interested in Mars. So for them, Lunar Gateway is like a gas station for the journey to Mars. If the Artemis mission were able to obtain water from the moon, it would be able to process it and make rocket fuel from hydrogen and oxygen.
In contrast, China and Russia announced joint construction plans in 2021. joint research station on the surface of the moon. The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) is open to all interested international parties, they said. However, given the poor relations with China and Russia, it is unlikely that the United States will be included.
Suzuki said the Chinese and Russian bases are “supposed to act like research bases in Antarctica” and that this is within the provisions of the International Outer Space Treaty. “But if it turns out to be a base on which to base their territorial claims, that violates the rules.”
The United States is rallying allies to prevent China from winning the space race. Earlier this month, shortly after China announced its intention to land a man on the moon, U.S. leader Joe Biden and his Japanese compatriot Fumio Kishida announced plans to partner with China’s historic rivals on NASA’s Artemis program in 2028. Japan has promised to send astronauts to the moon. And again in 2032.
But China is also gathering allies. The company has partnerships and financial interests in projects throughout the Middle East and Latin America, and ILRS has approximately 12 international members.
However, Ben Itzhak points out that there are some overlapping members. He also said that “neither bloc has so far introduced exclusionary practices, which is encouraging.”
Ben Itzhak notes that while the United States and China are certainly competing, the term is a clear contrast to the complex and nuanced dynamics currently unfolding in space: a diverse and increasing number of actors and initiatives. “I don’t fully understand that,” he said. The final goal is in sight. ”
“The real challenge in space is not just reaching certain milestones like planting a flag or collecting stones. It’s about establishing a sustainable and resilient existence in an incredibly difficult environment. This is a test of our own abilities.”
Additional research by Chi Hui Lin
