HomeSpaceNASA chief says China can claim territories on the moon

NASA chief says China can claim territories on the moon

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Bill Nelson, the current president of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States, recently gave an interview with Politico in which he claimed that if China were to win the new space race with the United States, Chinese authorities might claim territory on the moon.

According to him, the US is in a new space race with China. The head of NASA believes that if Beijing wins, it will be able to claim huge territories from the moon. He believes China will capture the most resource-rich parts of the lunar surface if it can establish itself on Earth’s natural satellite. “It’s a fact that we’re in a space race. And it’s true that we’d better make sure they don’t get to someplace on the moon under the guise of scientific research. And it’s possible they’ll say, ‘Don’t come here, we’re here, this is our territory,” Nelson pointed out.

He believes the situation with disputed islands in the South China Sea is at the heart of these claims. “If you doubt that, look at what they did to the Spratly Islands,” the NASA chief added. He expressed confidence that the US will send its own astronauts to the moon in 2025 as planned. Nelson expressed concern about the pace of China’s preparations to land the satellite on Earth. “Over the past decade, China has made tremendous progress and achievements,” he said. “It’s also true that their timelines for landing on the moon are getting closer and closer.”

Beijing rejects these claims. “Some US officials are speaking irresponsibly to distort China’s normal and legitimate space activities,” Liu Penyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, told Politico. “China categorically rejects such statements. Space is not a battlefield,” he added.

Russia- China on the moon

Russia and China signed a memorandum of understanding in 2021 on cooperation in creating the International Lunar Station. Early in December 2022, it became known that the Russian state corporation Roscosmos had commissioned the Lavochkin Research and Production Association with the experimental design of two lunar stations – The luna-26 orbital station and the Luna-27 landing station. The contracts entail the development of space systems for lunar surface research. One of the applications deals with the development of a remote sensing spacecraft complex in 2022-2024.

Roscosmos declared in September that it was ready to launch a mission to the moon. More than one autonomous lander will be launched into the Earth’s satellite. Then, by 2030, the domestic space industry will be technologically capable of landing humans on the moon.

The current plans of China called for establishing a base on Earth’s natural satellite by 2028. This, however, necessitates an earlier commencement of construction. The power source for the station will be a nuclear reactor.

Wu Weiren, the chief developer of China’s lunar exploration programme, stated in December 2022 that China is now constructing a new nuclear-powered system to suit the lunar station’s long-term energy requirements.

Uncertainty surrounds the nature of the Chinese lunar base, although no one has stated that it will be a structure designed for long-term human habitation. It is understood that the Chinese are discussing a landing module, a bunker-like structure, a lunar rover, and an orbital station.

Previously, it was believed that a nuclear station capable of powering such a base could generate up to 1 MW.

Frontier India News Network
Frontier India News Networkhttps://frontierindia.com/briefs
Frontier India News Network is the in-house news collection and distribution agency.

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