{"id":8884,"date":"2026-08-07T14:41:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T14:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8884"},"modified":"2026-08-07T14:41:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T14:41:25","slug":"this-year-could-mark-a-space-race-tipping-point-heres-what-to-know-about-chinas-secretive-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8884","title":{"rendered":"This year could mark a space-race tipping point. Here\u2019s what to know about China\u2019s secretive program"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n A gravity-defying competition that brewed in the background of geopolitics for decades is now roaring to the forefront \u2014 with China demonstrating rapid advances in space technology and the United States ratcheting up rhetoric about a looming battle for control of the cosmos.\n <\/p>

Read more Appeals court says Trump is unlawfully constructing White House ballroom<\/a><\/p>\n

\n In the past five years alone, China has launched Tiangong, a modern orbital laboratory to rival the aging, US-led International Space Station. China also retrieved the first-ever soil samples from the far side of the moon, a feat no other nation has duplicated.\n <\/p>\n

\n But it\u2019s the fact that China plans to build a permanent settlement on the moon by 2040 that has prompted an urgent response from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. They\u2019ve declared a new space race, and NASA is pledging to build a lunar outpost of America\u2019s own. Adding to the tension is the fact that aerospace development in China is largely shrouded in secrecy, making it tough to say with absolute certainty which country is ahead in the contest. There are, however, a few clues.\n <\/p>\n

\n And this year could mark a dramatic turning point as the moon\u2019s south pole becomes more of a focal point for both nations.\n <\/p>\n

\n The region is already the linchpin for US and Chinese ambitions because scientists believe it to be home to water ice. This crucial in-space resource can be converted into rocket fuel, breathable air or drinking water \u2014 all vital to sustaining an extraterrestrial settlement.\n <\/p>\n

\n Both the United States and China plan to send robotic explorers to the south pole later this year, paving the way for human explorers to follow close behind.\n <\/p>\n

\n The US is relying on the private sector to develop and build low-cost, exploratory robotic landers. The nation is next planning to deliver a lander called Griffin, developed by Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic Technology, to the lunar south pole in late 2026. The NASA-funded mission will aim to improve on the performance of two prior landers, built by another US company, that tripped while attempting to land on the south pole\u2019s notoriously treacherous terrain.\n <\/p>\n

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\nAt a shopping mall in Beijing, a giant screen shows taikonauts saluting inside the Tianhe core module of China’s space station in 2021.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Thomas Peter\/Reuters<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Meanwhile, China is aiming to launch its robotic Chang\u2019e-7 mission as soon as this month.\n <\/p>\n

\n The complex endeavor will seek to use four different robotic vehicles \u2014 an orbiter, lander, rover and mobile \u201chopper\u201d \u2014 working in tandem to attempt to gather unprecedented data. The effort will include tools to drill for and directly analyze water ice, a feat that the US will only attempt with robotic missions slated for next year at the earliest.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIf lunar water ice is successfully located, it could significantly reduce the cost and time required to transport water from Earth, facilitating the establishment of a human base for long-term activities on the moon and enabling further exploration of Mars or deep space,\u201d Tang Yuhua, the deputy chief designer of the Chang\u2019e-7 mission, said in a 2025 interview with state media.\n <\/p>\n

\n The oncoming flurry of south-pole-centric activity, with few established international laws to govern the outcomes, is heightening the drama of this rivalry. The dynamic echoes the Cold War, when NASA\u2019s moon landings sought to project power and showcase on the world stage that technology produced by Western capitalism was superior to that of Eastern communism.\n <\/p>\n

\n But with a much more ambitious goal \u2014 a future in which people attempt to flourish within permanent settlements rather than just visit the moon \u2014 the stakes of this new space race are even higher, according to Clayton Swope, the deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan nonprofit.\n <\/p>\n

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