The moon may soon be home to humanity.
A top scientist at Huazhong University of Science and Technology recently revealed that China wants to start building its lunar base during a mission around 2028.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson previously announced that a new Space Race had begun between the US and China as the two compete to build a lunar base first and dominate lunar resources, per The Guardian.
China 2028 Lunar Bases Details
Ding Lieyun, the top scientist in question, recently told Chinese media China plans to lay the first moon soil=made brick of its lunar base during the Chang'e 8 mission around 2028, per TIME. The country plans to do so using a robot named "Chinese Super Masons," which it is currently designing, to make bricks out of lunar soil.
Caixin, a Beijing-based Chinese news website, mentioned that China plans to have its lunar base powered by nuclear energy and its basic configuration will consist of a lander, hopper, orbiter, and rover. The country plans to build these configurations through its Chang'e 6, 7, and 8 missions.
Meanwhile, Wu Weiran, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, said in an interview with state media CCTV that China's astronauts could likely go to the moon within ten years. By then, Lieyun predicts that building habitation on the moon, apart from the lunar base it plans to construct by 2028, would become essential not only for lunar exploration but also for China's "strategic needs as a space power."
China has already made steps in making this base come true; it already sent probes to the moon, notably on its far side, according to Science.org. The country also built its own space station, the Tiangong Space Station, and is getting busy on Mars with its Zhurong Mars rover and Tianwen 1 spacecraft.
Most notably, China is the first country to ever send a probe to the far side of the moon to successfully gather and deliver lunar samples from that region back to Earth.
True to Lieyun's words, China probably wants to get ahead of the US to be the first to gain access to minerals and other resources that couldn't be found on Earth. For example, the moon is theorized to contain a source of waste-free nuclear energy that could meet global energy demands for 250 years - a boon for any country to have.
American Moon-based Achievements So Far
The US is not without its fair share of achievements in space. Apart from its successful Artemis 1 mission, NASA already has its Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) spacecraft in position to begin the construction of its Lunar Gateway.
NASA plans to use this moon-orbiting space station to support a long-term and sustainable human presence on and around the moon, per Gizmodo. Additionally, NASA plans to use its Gateway space station as staging points for deep space exploration, such as sending the first humans to Mars and spacecraft to other parts of the solar system, per NASA's Gateway webpage.
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