China narrows gap with US in space travel
China has made great strides in its space exploration efforts in the past few years, most recently with the successful launch of Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship. However, Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan notes that while China is narrowing the gap in aerospace technology with the US, there is still a long way to go to catch up.
China’s Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship successfully launched on the night of 25 April. In the early hours of 26 April at the Tiangong space station, the three-member crew met with the three astronauts of Shenzhou-17, who subsequently returned to Earth on 30 April.
At the same time, China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe has been transferred to the launch area at Wenchang Space Launch Center and is scheduled for launch in the late afternoon of 3 May, demonstrating that China is closing the gap with the US in aerospace technology.
China-US space race
Prior to the launch of Shenzhou-18, NASA administrator Bill Nelson warned that China has made extraordinary strides in its space capabilities in the last decade, and could surpass the US in a few years if the US does not take action.
Testifying before the US House Committee on Appropriations, Nelson said, “China has made extraordinary strides… And I think, in effect, we are in a race.”
He expressed concerns that if Chinese astronauts were to land on the moon, China could suddenly say, “‘OK, this is our territory, you stay out.’”
While Nelson’s claim that China wants to assert sovereignty over the moon may not be true, his suggestion that China and the US are in a space race is not an exaggeration. In fact, both countries are accelerating the pace of sending astronauts to the moon.
In 2017, the US government officially approved the Artemis Program, which aims to return humans to the moon. The programme was originally intended to safely send astronauts to the moon and back by 2024, and to establish a long-term presence on the moon and pave the way for human missions to Mars.
However, Artemis 1’s Orion spacecraft only completed an unmanned circling of the moon in December 2022, which means that sending astronauts to the moon by 2024 is out of the question. This January, NASA again delayed its crewed moon landing, with the Artemis 2 mission now planned for September 2025 and Artemis 3 planned for September 2026.
Over five decades later, as American astronauts are still struggling to return to the moon, China has already caught up with the US tremendously.
Early in 1969 when China was still in the midst of the Cultural Revolution, the US had already landed humans on the moon. Over five decades later, as American astronauts are still struggling to return to the moon, China has already caught up with the US tremendously.
China’s space exploration developments
China officially launched its lunar exploration mission in January 2004. Over the past 20 years, Chang’e 1 to 5 were launched; from obtaining lunar images, landing on the far side of the moon to successfully bringing back 1,731 grams of lunar samples, China’s lunar mission finished the three strategic objectives of “orbit, land and return”, and is entering the fourth phase of its lunar exploration programme.
The China Manned Space Agency announced in February this year that China is now actively developing a new-generation manned launch vehicle (Long March-10), a next-generation crewed spacecraft, a lunar lander, a moon suit and other flight products, as well as various test launch facilities and equipment, with the aim to send the first Chinese astronauts to the moon by 2030.
On 24 April, China Lunar Exploration Program designer-in-chief Wu Weiren revealed that the fourth phase of the programme would include the Chang’e 6, 7 and 8 missions. Chang’e-6 mission will launch on 3 May for a sample return mission on the far side of the moon; Chang’e-7 is scheduled for launch around 2026 to conduct environmental and resource surveys in the lunar south pole; Chang’e-8 is planned for launch around 2028 to conduct experiments on in-situ utilisation of lunar resources.
China would also set up a basic version of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) by 2035, with an expanded version by 2045, conducting technical verification and scientific experiments related to a manned mission to Mars.
... when it comes to the frequency of rocket launches, cost control, establishment of the “space chain” among other areas, China is clearly lagging behind the US.
However, if the US’s Artemis 2 and 3 missions can be successfully carried out in 2025 or 2026, the US would be able to once again send astronauts to the moon before China and maintain its lead in space travel.
Even as China denies that it is engaged in a space race with the US, it is clear that China is not satisfied with being behind the US in the field of aerospace. In 2021, China’s Tianwen-1 Mars probe was successfully launched, orbiting and landing on Mars, while the Zhurong rover conducted surveillance on Mars, realising interplanetary exploration from the Earth-Moon system.
According to Wu, China plans to launch the Tianwen-2 mission by 2025, to conduct a flyby exploration and sample return from a small asteroid about 40 million kilometres from Earth. It would launch the Tianwen-3 mission to carry out a Mars sample return mission by 2030, and that “China is expected to become the first country to return samples from Mars”.
Wu also claimed that China would implement a kinetic impact on an asteroid located tens of millions of kilometres away, altering its orbit and conducting impact assessment in orbit, aiming for “precision, effectiveness and clear evaluation”.
Still unable to overtake the US
Currently, China is steadily progressing in the construction of the ILRS and its Lunar Exploration Program, sparing no effort to narrow the gap with the US. But when it comes to the frequency of rocket launches, cost control, establishment of the “space chain” among other areas, China is clearly lagging behind the US.
In comparison with the ambitious Mars migration plan of Elon Musk, head of the US’s SpaceX, China’s aerospace goals seem to carry more responsibilities and are focused on the long run.
... to say that in just a few short years China would be able to overtake the US is an exaggeration.
But China is also proactively creating its own “space chain”. In July 2023, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation announced plans to construct “Chutian”, a massive extra-low orbit remote-sensing satellite network, and would launch nine more remote-sensing satellites over 2024 and 2025 to create a network capable of observing designated areas and specific targets in accordance with users’ requirements.
From 2026 to its completion in 2030, the 300 remote-sensing satellites would form a massive system that can provide real-time remote sensing services such as optical photos, hyperspectral and infrared images, and eventually be capable of mapping and surveying any given place in the world within 15 minutes after receiving users’ requests.
From the rapid development of China’s aerospace sector in recent years, Nelson’s concern about China possibly surpassing the US is not without reason. But to say that in just a few short years China would be able to overtake the US is an exaggeration.
Aerospace science encompasses a wide range of fields, and the technology needs to be accumulated over a long period of time before garnering significant results. Nelson’s emphasis on the pressure of China catching up to the US is likely intended to spur congress into allocating more funds to NASA.
This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “中国航天会不会超越美国？”.
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