Russia has declared a new space race, hoping to join forces with China. Here's why that's unlikely
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Mittwoch, August 23, 2023
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This week, the Russian space agency Roscosmos had hoped to return to the Moon after an absence of nearly 50 years.
Key Points:
- This week, the Russian space agency Roscosmos had hoped to return to the Moon after an absence of nearly 50 years.
- The agency explained the spacecraft “switched to an off-design orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the lunar surface”.
- His statement sounds like it is less about the scientific exploration of the lunar surface, and more about geopolitical posturing.
- These appointments have allowed me to gain unique insights into the processes driving China’s space science program.
A lunar outpost
- The lunar south pole region is thought to contain significant water reservoirs locked in grains of ice.
- That makes the area interesting as a potential staging post for future missions to Mars and beyond, as lunar explorers can use the water for survival.
- In early 2021, Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly establish an International Lunar Research Station by the mid-2030s.
No need for a space race
- China will unlikely be coerced into rushing its planned milestones.
- As such, the notion of a “space race” involving China seems a moot point.
- Its ageing technology pales in comparison with the leaps of modernisation we have witnessed in relation to China’s progress in space.
Venturing out to the planets
- That mission successfully deployed the Zhurong rover (named after a Chinese mythological god of fire), a major technological feat in its own right.
- Future plans include the development of a next-generation crewed spacecraft to replace the workhorse Shenzhou (Divine Vessel on the Heavenly River) series.
- Read more:
China's new space station opens for business in an increasingly competitive era of space activity