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China completed the first-ever landing on the “dark” side of the moon this week. It was a technical achievement and a coup for the country’s ambitions to outshine the U.S. space program.
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“It’s a very, very symbolically and technologically significant development, and it shows to the world that China’s space program has arrived and can do original feats on its own,” says Goswami (@namygoswami), who’s working on a book about “expansionism, territoriality and resource nationalism” in space.
China’s long-term goal is to establish a base on the moon, which it can utilize for researching deep-space exploration and asteroid mining, Goswami says. That contrasts with U.S. goals, which are primarily focused on Mars.
Goswami says China’s efforts in space come amid a loss of American momentum.
“In the last 20 years, the U.S. has lost focus — especially under the first two Bush administrations, and to an extent under Obama,” she says. “Under President Xi Jinping, space is one of the top-most priorities of the Communist Party of China, and they have committed resources for the next 20 years.”
https://www.wwno.org/post/china-wants-establish-base-moon-space-program-expert-says
China completed the first-ever landing on the “dark” side of the moon this week. It was a technical achievement and a coup for the country’s ambitions to outshine the U.S. space program.
...
“It’s a very, very symbolically and technologically significant development, and it shows to the world that China’s space program has arrived and can do original feats on its own,” says Goswami (@namygoswami), who’s working on a book about “expansionism, territoriality and resource nationalism” in space.
China’s long-term goal is to establish a base on the moon, which it can utilize for researching deep-space exploration and asteroid mining, Goswami says. That contrasts with U.S. goals, which are primarily focused on Mars.
Goswami says China’s efforts in space come amid a loss of American momentum.
“In the last 20 years, the U.S. has lost focus — especially under the first two Bush administrations, and to an extent under Obama,” she says. “Under President Xi Jinping, space is one of the top-most priorities of the Communist Party of China, and they have committed resources for the next 20 years.”
https://www.wwno.org/post/china-wants-establish-base-moon-space-program-expert-says