{"id":241908,"date":"2025-09-20T17:11:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T17:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/241908\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T17:11:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T17:11:16","slug":"in-a-race-back-to-the-moon-u-s-and-china-see-a-fast-approaching-finish-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/241908\/","title":{"rendered":"In a race back to the moon, U.S. and China see a fast-approaching finish line"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Early in his first term, President Trump held a <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/12\/11\/science\/trump-moon-space-directive.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">modest ceremony<\/a> directing NASA to return humans to the moon for the first time in 50 years. It was a goalpost set without a road map. Veterans of the space community reflected on the <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov\/presidential-actions\/presidential-memorandum-reinvigorating-americas-human-space-exploration-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2017 document<\/a>, conspicuously silent on budgets and timelines, equivocating between excitement and concern. <\/p>\n<p>Was Trump setting up a giveaway to special interests in the aerospace community? Or was he setting forth a real strategic vision for the coming decade, to secure American leadership in the heavens?<\/p>\n<p>           <video playsinline=\"playsinline\" loop=\"\" preload=\"none\" title=\"In a race back to the moon, U.S. and China see a fast-approaching finish line\" data-video-id=\"00000199-6573-d183-a19f-fff366950000\">               <\/video>               <img class=\"image\" alt=\"\"   width=\"473\" height=\"840\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758388272_195_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>             <\/p>\n<ul data-element=\"action-bar-menu\" class=\"flex gap-2 list-none  absolute w-full h-10 top-0\">\n<li data-element=\"action-bar-share\" class=\"flex  w-full h-10 top-0 lg:items-center lg:justify-center \">\n<p> Share via     Close extra sharing options  <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It was a return to a plan <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/id\/wbna3950099\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first proposed<\/a> by President George W. Bush in 2004, then <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/id\/wbna35209628\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">abandoned<\/a> by President Obama in 2010, asserting the moon as a vital part of American ambitions in space. Whether to return to the lunar surface at all \u2014 or skip it  to focus on Mars \u2014 was a long-standing debate governing the division of resources at NASA, where every project is precious, holding extraordinary promise for the knowledge of mankind, yet requiring consistent, high-dollar funding commitments from a capricious Congress.<\/p>\n<p>Eight years on, the debate is over. Trump\u2019s policy shift has blazed a new American trail in space \u2014 and spawned an urgent race with China that is fast approaching the finish line.<\/p>\n<p>Both nations are in a sprint toward manned missions to the lunar surface by the end of this decade, with sights on 2029 as a common deadline \u2014 marking the end of Trump\u2019s presidency and, in China, the 80th anniversary of the People\u2019s Republic.<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"A &quot;What Will 2030 Look Like?&quot; sign behind Sen. Ted Cruz with American and Chinese astronauts on the moon\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758388273_164_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>A \u201cWhat Will 2030 Look Like?\u201d sign behind Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who chairs the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, during a confirmation hearing in April.<\/p>\n<p>(Kent Nishimura\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>It is a far different race  from the original, against the Soviet Union, when U.S. astronauts inspired the world with a televised landing in 1969. This time, Washington would not just plant a flag and return its astronauts home. Instead, the Americans plan to stay, establishing a lunar base that would test humanity\u2019s ability to live beyond Earth.<\/p>\n<p>China has similar plans. And with both countries aiming for the same strategic area of the surface \u2014 the south pole of the moon, where peaks of eternal light shine alongside crevices of permanent darkness, believed to store frozen water \u2014 the stakes of the race are grounded in national security. Whichever nation establishes a presence there first could lay claim to the region for themselves.<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"The world's first full-scale model of the crewed pressurized lunar rover\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758388274_793_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>The world\u2019s first full-scale model of the crewed pressurized lunar rover, to be used in the Artemis moon exploration program, is displayed during a press preview in July.<\/p>\n<p>(Kazuhiro Nogi\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Advocates of the U.S. effort, called the Artemis program, increasingly fear that delays at NASA and its private sector partners, coupled with proposed funding cuts to NASA from the Trump administration, could ensure China\u2019s victory in a race with broad consequences for U.S. interests.<\/p>\n<p>So it is a race that Trump started. The question is whether he can finish it.<\/p>\n<p>While U.S. intelligence officials <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/politics-government\/article281848548.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have assessed<\/a> that Beijing is on track to meet its goals, NASA veterans say that accomplishing a manned mission before the Chinese appears increasingly out of reach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a stretch,\u201d said G. Scott Hubbard, a leader in human space exploration for the last half-century who served as NASA\u2019s first \u201cMars czar\u201d and former director of the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. \u201cBottom line, yes, it is doable. It\u2019ll take an intense effort by the best engineers, and appropriate funding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not inconceivable,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"Visitors take photos of a space suit during an event marking China's Space Day\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1230\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758388275_987_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>Visitors take photos of a space suit during an event marking China\u2019s Space Day at the Harbin Institute of Technology in Harbin, capital of northeast China\u2019s Heilongjiang province.<\/p>\n<p>(Wang Jianwei\/Xinhua via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The White House said Trump is committed to making \u201cAmerican leadership in space great again,\u201d noting his first-term push to return U.S. astronauts to the moon and his efforts to deregulate the U.S. space industry. But officials declined to comment on a timeline for the mission or on China\u2019s steady progress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing first and beating China to the moon matters because it sets the rules of the road,\u201d Sean Duffy, Transportation secretary and acting NASA administrator, told The Times. \u201cWe\u2019re committed to doing this right \u2014 safely, peacefully, and ahead of strategic competitors \u2014 because American leadership on the moon secures our future in space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The success of the Artemis program, Duffy said, is about ensuring the United States leads in space for generations to come. \u201cThose who lead in space lead on Earth,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>NASA officials, granted anonymity to speak candidly, expressed concern that while leadership on the Artemis program has remained relatively stable, talent on robotics and in other key areas has left the agency at a critical time in the race, with potentially less than two years to go before China launches its first robotic mission to the south pole \u2014 a scout, of sorts, for a manned landing to follow.<\/p>\n<p>A proposal to cut NASA research funding by roughly 47% has gripped officials there with doubt, jeopardizing a sense of job security at the agency and destabilizing a talent pipeline that could prove critical to success.<\/p>\n<p>In the 1960s, the federal government increased spending on NASA to 4.4% of GDP to secure victory in the first space race.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s too much uncertainty,\u201d one NASA official said, raising the specter of the Trump administration impounding funds for the agency even if Congress continues to fund it.<\/p>\n<p>Inside NASA headquarters, Hubbard said, \u201cthe feeling right now is terrified uncertainty \u2014 everyone is walking on eggshells.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re treading water,\u201d he added. \u201cPeople want to be given clear direction, and they\u2019re not getting it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"A Smart Dragon-3 rocket carrying the Geely-05 constellation satellites lifts off from sea\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758388275_773_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>A Chinese Smart Dragon-3 rocket carrying satellites lifts off from sea on Sept. 9.<\/p>\n<p>(VCG\/VCG via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>       China\u2019s long march gets closer<\/p>\n<p>Beijing conducted a series of tests over the last several weeks viewed in Washington as crucial milestones for China on its journey to the moon.<\/p>\n<p>A launch of its Lanyue lander, equipped to carry two taikonauts to the lunar surface, \u201cvalidated\u201d its landing and takeoff system, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/moon\/chinas-lunar-lander-aces-touchdown-and-takeoff-tests-ahead-of-planned-2030-crewed-moon-mission-video\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">state media reported<\/a>. Two subsequent tests of China\u2019s Long March 10, a super-heavy lift rocket designed to jump-start the mission, were a <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/spacenews.com\/china-completes-second-hot-fire-test-for-new-moon-rocket-including-engine-restarts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201ccomplete success,\u201d<\/a> according to the China Manned Space Agency.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike in the United States, China\u2019s manned space flight program is housed within its military.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have seen them steadily progress on all of the various pieces that they are going to need,\u201d said Dean Cheng, senior advisor to the China program at the U.S. Institute of Peace. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou need a vehicle to launch, because current rockets simply don\u2019t have enough throw-weight. They\u2019re testing the lander to carry astronauts to the surface,\u201d Cheng said. \u201cThese are key pieces, and significant advances \u2014 this is a brand new rocket and a lunar lander with new technology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>China initially set a goal for its manned mission by 2035, but has since moved up its plans, an expression of confidence from Beijing and an unusual break from typical party protocol. Now, China aims not only to have completed that mission, but to begin establishing an International Lunar Research Station on its surface, in conjunction with Russia, by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>They are expected to target the south pole.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s room for two powers under schemes of coordination, but there\u2019s not room in an uncoordinated environment. There can easily be a competition for resources,\u201d said Thomas Gonz\u00e1lez Roberts, an assistant professor of international affairs and aerospace engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n<p>Landing and takeoff of spacecraft on the moon will kick up lunar dust and rocks, risking the safety of astronauts on the ground and sensitive equipment across a base site \u2014 considerations that are likely driving Beijing\u2019s strategy to get there first. Those enjoying the benefits of first arrival could set up generous routes for rovers, equipment at dig sites for deposits, telecommunication assets, and even a nuclear reactor to assert a large area of domain.<\/p>\n<p>Since his first term, Trump and his aides have sought to avoid a showdown on the lunar surface, drafting a new set of international rules to govern an otherwise untamed frontier. The Artemis Accords \u201cset out a practical set of principles to guide space exploration,\u201d according to the State Department. President Biden embraced and extended the initiative, growing the list of signatories to 56 nations. <\/p>\n<p>But China is not one of them, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/csps.aerospace.org\/papers\/should-wolf-amendment-be-repealed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prohibited by Congress<\/a> during the Obama era from cooperating with the United States in space after attempting to steal U.S. technology on intercontinental ballistic missiles and thermonuclear weapons. Instead, Beijing has recruited a small list of countries to join its lunar base program, including Russia, Venezuela, Pakistan, Egypt, Nicaragua, Belarus and South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think there will be extreme congestion on the moon, but if you really define an area of interest \u2014 and there is that, with these peaks of eternal light next to permanently shadowed regions \u2014 you could manufacture congestion,\u201d Roberts added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do you benefit from obfuscation?\u201d he asked. \u201cIf you\u2019re the first arrival, you spread yourself out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from launchpad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758388276_436_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from launch pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, carrying Northrop Grumman\u2019s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft toward the International Space Station.<\/p>\n<p>(Manuel Mazzanti\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>       The promise and burden of Musk\u2019s Starship<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Duffy warned NASA staff that the Trump administration suspects Beijing is planning to deliver a nuclear reactor to power a long-term presence at its lunar base by 2029.<\/p>\n<p>The move, Duffy said, could allow China to \u201cdeclare a keep-out zone, which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first.\u201d He ordered the agency <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/08\/05\/nasa-under-trump-aims-to-build-nuclear-reactor-on-moon-before-china-and-russia.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to collect proposals<\/a> by October on delivering a U.S. reactor to the surface no later than that year.<\/p>\n<p>The administration\u2019s success relies on a man whose relationship with Trump has crashed spectacularly to Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Starship, a super heavy-lift launch vehicle produced by Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX, is the rocket Trump is relying on to accomplish the Artemis mission. Yet repeated setbacks in the Starship program have raised alarm at NASA over its <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/nymag.com\/intelligencer\/article\/elon-musk-spacex-starship-doomed.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fundamental constitution<\/a>. A concerning series of tests have already delayed the U.S. manned launch, known as Artemis III, toward the end of Trump\u2019s term.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, in its 10th test flight, the rocket <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/08\/26\/g-s1-85541\/starship-space-x-tenth-flight\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">finally succeeded<\/a> in a suborbital mission. But \u201cStarship has yet to reach orbit,\u201d Hubbard said, \u201cand once it reaches orbit, they\u2019ve got to demonstrate microgravity transfer of cryogenic propellant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s something that\u2019s never been done before,\u201d he added. \u201cSo to say that they\u2019ll be ready to do all of that in two years is a real stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Setbacks are common course in the history of the U.S. space program. But the success of China\u2019s recent tests has shown the Trump administration that NASA and its partners have run out of time for further delays.<\/p>\n<p>Duffy said that Artemis II, a manned mission to orbit the moon, will take place early next year, overcoming a separate set of design flaws that faced Lockheed Martin\u2019s Orion spacecraft. Artemis III would keep astronauts on the surface for more than a week and deliver payloads to help begin the foundation of a base.<\/p>\n<p>Whether the Trump administration will commit to the funding and leadership necessary for the mission is an open question. The White House declined to say who within the West Wing is leading the effort. Trump has not named a permanent NASA administrator for Senate confirmation.<\/p>\n<p>Success on the moon is meant to provide a testing ground and a launching pad for more ambitious, challenging manned missions to Mars. But Trump\u2019s commitment to those ventures are equally in doubt. The administration has proposed canceling funds for a landmark program decades in the making to return samples from the red planet, despite a NASA announcement last week  revealed <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasa-says-mars-rover-discovered-potential-biosignature-last-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">it had discovered<\/a> signs of ancient Martian life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been on the inside of it \u2014 you waste enormous amounts of time just trying to find workarounds to get funding in to stay on schedule,\u201d Hubbard said. \u201cIf you really, really want to beat the Chinese, give NASA the funding and some stability \u2014 because you\u2019re not going to beat them if every day, week or month, there\u2019s a different direction, a different budget, a different administrator.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd China may still win,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cIt would be another claim that they\u2019re the dominant power in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Early in his first term, President Trump held a modest ceremony directing NASA to return humans to the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":241909,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[22608,9710,74,45419,129156,6522,994,916,1408,6176,159,783,129158,277,4352,129157,67,132,68,1628],"class_list":{"0":"post-241908","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-agency","9":"tag-beijing","10":"tag-china","11":"tag-landing","12":"tag-lunar-surface","13":"tag-mission","14":"tag-moon","15":"tag-nasa","16":"tag-official","17":"tag-race","18":"tag-science","19":"tag-space","20":"tag-space-community","21":"tag-trump","22":"tag-trump-administration","23":"tag-u-s-astronaut","24":"tag-united-states","25":"tag-unitedstates","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-year"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115237741225163630","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}