China Oaths To Build Bases On The Moon Before The US And Russia

JAKARTA - China may be late in space exploration, but the country has revealed a grand vision that could make it the first country to build a lunar base on the moon. Beijing not only wants to put Chinese boots on the surface in the next seven years, but can also beat the United States in having a fixed post there.

NASA previously revealed the goal of building its own Artemis Base Camp in the 2030s, a schedule that would put the two countries on the same track and prepare for an epic 21st-century space race prospect. Wu Weiren, the physicist who led China's lunar mission, told state media that Beijing wanted to create a science station and research the month before the end of this decade.

"By 2030, the traces of the Chinese will be left on the moon," he said, quoted by the Daily Mail. "There is no question about that."

Two years ago, China announced plans with Russia to set up a joint base on the moon in 2035. This latest announcement will show that the two countries have accelerated their goal of trying to defeat the US-led Western group that includes Canada's, Europe's and Japan's space agencies.

Documents leaked last year indicated that NASA was targeting 2034 to start its business building a lunar base. However, the US space agency also expressed hope of having a fixed post on the moon by the end of the decade, while officials last week implied that work could start as quickly as the Artemis VII mission.

China is a new player in space affairs but has achieved some impressive successes over the past decade. In 2007, China launched an unmanned Chang'e 1 to circle the moon and in 2013 managed to land unmanned there.

Six years later, China became the first country to land on the far side of the moon and by the end of 2020, the Chang'e-5 spacecraft managed to bring back the rock and 'land' taken from its surface.

This is seen as a demonstration of increasing capabilities in China's space. Meanwhile, Russia is seen moving in the opposite direction. Formerly a super force with the US, now Russia has become a secondary player after losing its monopoly on transporting astronauts to the International Space Station after the emergence of Elon Musk's SpaceX.