"The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) is aiming for a human landing no later than 2030. It plans to use its Mengzhou crew capsule and Lanyue lunar lander, which will be launched separately on its Long March-10 rockets. Officials haven't selected a landing area yet, but CMSA appears to be zooming in on a relatively low-risk touchdown site near the equator on the moon's Earth-facing side."
"NASA, meanwhile, is pursuing a landing in 2028. Astronauts will launch to the moon in an Orion capsule atop a Space Launch System rocket and then be ferried to the surface by either SpaceX's Starship vehicle or Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander as part of the agency's Artemis IV mission."
"Unlike China's hew toward an Apollo-style, safety first plan, the U.S.'s astronauts would target more perilous sites near the harder-to-reach, resource-rich lunar south pole. And both nations want this region to be the site of their crewed outposts."
The United States and China are competing to return astronauts to the moon and establish sustainable crewed bases. China's China Manned Space Agency targets a human landing by 2030 using the Mengzhou capsule and Lanyue lander on Long March-10 rockets, planning a relatively low-risk equatorial landing site similar to Apollo missions. NASA aims for a 2028 landing via the Artemis IV mission, using the Orion capsule and either SpaceX's Starship or Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander to reach the lunar surface. Critically, NASA targets the resource-rich but challenging lunar south pole, while China favors safer equatorial sites. Both nations seek to establish permanent outposts, with China planning the International Lunar Research Station in partnership with Russia, creating competing lunar infrastructure.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]