No plans to take over the moon, says China on NASA allegation
According to reports, China is likely to send a 15-50-tonne spacecraft to the moon for probe missions in the coming decade; a similar mission is likely for undertaken to Mars, too
China has slammed the US’s NASA for alleging that it may take over the moon as part of a military programme, and said that it has spoken irresponsibly about the eastern nation’s lunar missions.
China is planning to send astronauts to the moon towards the end of the decade but has plans to send more uncrewed missions to the moon ever since it first did in 2013.
According to reports, China is likely to send a 15-50-tonne spacecraft to the moon for probe missions in the coming decade. A similar mission is likely to be undertaken to Mars too.
China has been working on a three-module space station called Tiangong that will rival the International Space Station (ISS). China is barred from the US Space Station as US law bans NASA from sharing data with China.
NASA’s Administrator Bill Nelson told German newspaper Bild in an interview that he fears these missions are part of a military programme. “We must be very concerned that China is landing on the moon and saying: ‘It’s ours now and you stay out’,” he was quoted as saying by the paper.
When asked to explain the military plans of China, Nelson said: “Well, what do you think is happening on the Chinese space station? They are learning how to destroy other people’s satellites.” He also accused China of stealing ideas and technology from other countries.
Also read: International Space Station: NASA mulls options as Russian threatens withdrawal
The US space agency chief’s comments drew strong reaction from China, which said Nelson’s comments ignored facts.
“This is not the first time that the head of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration has ignored the facts and spoken irresponsibly about China,” said Zhao Lijian, a spokesman at the Chinese foreign ministry.
“The US side has constantly constructed a smear campaign against China’s normal and reasonable outer space endeavours, and China firmly opposes such irresponsible remarks.”
China has always promoted the building of a shared future for humanity in outer space and opposed its weaponisation and any arms race in space, he said.
China however doesn’t match up with the United States in experience and technology in sending crewed missions to outer space. NASA had sent a crewed mission in 1972 and is planning to send another to the moon by 2024.
Under its Artemis programme, NASA plans to send astronauts to land near the lunar south pole by 2025.
