CHINA’S space agency has officially declared the US a competitor on the moon for the first time.
The shock decision by the China National Space Administration comes after they furiously declared they would never compete with the US.
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The CNSA stated: “It is foreseeable that v next For 20 to 30 years, China’s International Lunar Research Station and the US Artemis program will compete.”
Their new lunar plan read: “[We] they will compete in terms of technology and operational efficiency on the same historical stage and in the same geographical location (the South Pole of the Moon).
It continued: “In the historical context of the period, race demonstrate extraordinary political power made lunar exploration untenable,
The plan, titled “International Lunar Research Station Resource Utilization Development Pathway Strategic Concept,” was unveiled in April.
It was written under the guidance of scientist Pei Zhaoyu.
Prof. Pei told The South China Morning Post: “Using lunar resources will become the focus of the competition.”
He added: “And countries such as United States they don’t have a distinct advantage in that.”
The decision marks China’s shift from a secretive to a more open space policy – but Washington has always seen the CNSA as a rival.
NASA big boss Bill Nelson admitted to Politico last year: “It’s a fact: we’re in space race.
“And it’s true that we’d better be careful that they don’t get to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research.
“It’s not out of the realm of possibility that they say, ‘Stay away, we’re here, this is our territory’.”
In fact, China successfully launched its Chang’e-6 spacecraft on May 3 as part of its mission to retrieve new samples from the moon.
And the monumental moment when a Chinese space probe landed on Earth with the first ever sample from the dark side of the moon was caught on camera.
China’s Chang’e-6 probe landed safely with rock and soil intact – a mission no other nation has successfully completed.
Extraordinary footage shows a small, unobtrusive bag attached to a parachute as it descends to a grassy Earth containing the first sample of the “dark side of the moon”.
The probe landed in northern China in the Inner Mongolia region.
Earlier this month, the Chang’e-6 rover landed on the dark -183C side of the moon before successfully collecting rock and soil samples, a world first.
The satellite touched down on the far side of the moon after descending from its orbit about 124 miles above the moon’s surface to find a landing site.
During what was called the “Space Race of the 1960s,” the US and Russia competed to see who could achieve more in space.
The two nations, Russia then the USSR, were also involved in the Cold War.
The US felt they could assert dominance if they were the first to send a man to the moon.
This saw the Americans and Soviets compete to demonstrate their technological prowess.
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Why is the Chang’e 6 robotic mission so important?
The far side of the Moon, nicknamed the “dark side”, has now become the focus of many space exploration programs.
India, Russia, China and the US are all involved in space development to study the far point of the Moon.
It is considered not only an impressive site for future space exploration, but also a suitable location for lunar bases.
Scientists believe it could be the most promising place for water ice, which will be key to future human habitation on the moon.
It is also one of the most resource-dense regions of the Moon. Permanently shadowed areas on the Moon could contain ice and other minerals that would be vital resources for future explorers.
Scientists hypothesize that there is an abundance of helium-3 in the so-called “cold traps” spread across the South Pole, which can help produce vast amounts of energy here on Earth.
Mountain peaks near the pole – which are illuminated for longer periods of time – could be used to provide solar power to the base.
With a base on the moon, scientists will be able to analyze water and other volatile samples dating back to the formation of the Solar System.
For China, the landing of the Chang’e-6 lunar probe is an important milestone that the country will use to expand its space presence on the far side of the moon.
It will use data collected by the space lander to allow Chinese astronauts to enter the moon by 2030