[By Guancha Observer, Wang Yi] As one of the events of the "China Space Day" in 2025, the International Lunar Research Station Developers Conference was held in Shanghai on April 23, where scholars from multiple countries discussed the future cooperative models and coordinated development paths for the International Lunar Research Station.

According to a report by Bloomberg on the same day, Chief Designer of China's Lunar Exploration Program Wu Weiren compared the steady progress of China's lunar exploration plan with the uncertainty of former U.S. President Trump's lunar exploration plan at the conference, criticizing the U.S.'s changing focus in its space program.

"When the president changes, so does the policy," Wu Weiren said. "We can set goals and finish the blueprint in China, which is why we have been progressing steadily and firmly. This is the difference between our two countries."

Chief Designer of China's Lunar Exploration Program, Wu Weiren, Visual China

Both countries have plans for manned lunar landings. China aims to send Chinese astronauts to the moon around 2030. Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson for China's Manned Space Program and deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, stated at the press conference for the Shenzhou XX mission on the 23rd that all research and development work for China's manned lunar landing mission is progressing smoothly, including organizing zero-height escape trials for the Dreamboat spacecraft.

Bloomberg reported that whether the U.S. will place the moon at the core of its manned space exploration ambitions remains an unresolved issue. SpaceX CEO and former Trump advisor Elon Musk previously stated that the lunar program "distracts" attention away from Mars exploration, which he considers the priority. Jared Isaacman, nominated by Trump as NASA administrator, mentioned during his confirmation hearing last month that NASA would implement the Artemis program, aiming to land astronauts on the moon while also reaching Mars.

The U.S. manned lunar landing program began in the 1960s against the backdrop of the "space race" with the Soviet Union. Then-President John F. Kennedy announced in a joint session of Congress that Americans would be safely sent to the moon before 1970.

This goal was eventually achieved in 1969 after immense human, material, and financial resources were expended. At that time, American Neil Armstrong landed on the moon aboard Apollo 11 and became the first person to walk on the lunar surface, creating history. His words, "This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," are remembered by astronomy enthusiasts worldwide.

In the following three years, the U.S. successfully carried out six more manned lunar landings. Those years were glorious moments for America's Apollo manned lunar landing program. However, in the more than half-century since then, the U.S. lunar landing program has repeatedly been postponed and encountered setbacks.

Over 50 years after the end of the Apollo program, NASA's Artemis program, involving multiple commercial companies and international partners, was officially signed in 2020. The plan aims to send American astronauts back to the moon and return them safely by 2024.

However, several major missions of this plan have been repeatedly delayed by NASA. The uncrewed "Artemis 1" was originally scheduled to launch before the end of 2021 but was postponed until the end of 2022. The "Artemis 2" and "Artemis 3" were expected to make progress in 2023 and 2024, respectively, but have now been delayed by three years.

In January 2024, Astrobotic's "Peregrine 1" lunar lander burned up in the atmosphere over the South Pacific after re-entering under ground control. The U.S.'s first attempt to "return to the moon" in 52 years ended in failure.

The Artemis program was proposed during Trump's first term, but it is unclear whether he will adjust this plan again after returning to the White House. In his inaugural speech, he emphasized Mars but made no mention of the lunar mission, leading to speculation that he might bypass the lunar program and integrate it directly into Musk's "Mars landing" plan.

On the other side, China is making progress. According to Bloomberg, although China has yet to send humans to the lunar surface, its Chang'e-7 mission has successfully completed the only successful landing on the far side of the moon by humanity and retrieved the first sample from the lunar far side. China plans to launch the Chang'e-7 lunar probe in 2026 to search for water ice at the lunar south pole.

For the first time, the lunar soil samples returned by the Chang'e-6 mission from the far side of the moon were exhibited. IC Photo

In this process, an increasing number of countries are choosing to cooperate with China in lunar exploration despite U.S. pressure.

On April 24, the website of the National Space Administration released a message stating that on the occasion of the tenth "China Space Day" launch ceremony, the results of international applications for borrowing lunar samples from the Chang'e-5 mission were announced, agreeing to the applications from seven institutions in six countries. On-site agreements for the "Chang'e-5 Mission Moon Sample Borrowing Agreement" were signed with five institutions from five countries. These seven institutions include the Paris Geophysical Institute in France, Cologne University in Germany, Osaka University in Japan, the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, the Open University in the UK, Brown University in the United States, and Stony Brook University in the State University of New York.

Wu Weiren stated on the 23rd that the International Lunar Research Station, initiated by China and participated in by many countries, is progressing smoothly. Currently, 17 countries and international organizations, along with over 50 international research institutions, have joined. The construction plan for the International Lunar Research Station is divided into two phases, completing the basic type construction by 2035 and the expansion type construction by 2045. So far, the station has made good progress, and the development of the Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8, which form the basic type of the station, is proceeding smoothly.

However, Reuters reported on the 23rd that Wu Weiren told foreign media that despite the positive development trend of the International Lunar Research Station, due to the U.S.'s constant interference with China's normal cooperation with other countries and regions, including Europe, the scale of the station is much smaller compared to the Artemis program.

It was reported that the European Space Agency, with 23 member states, once considered joining the International Lunar Research Station but abandoned the idea due to reasons such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and U.S. sanctions. Critics pointed out that the Artemis program is overly centered on the U.S., similar to the colonialist actions of Europe, perhaps comparable to the Treaty of Tordesillas that divided the new world between Portugal and Spain.

Hernan Merino Choque, Minister of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, stated that the International Lunar Research Station is the only organization in the world that provides equal opportunities for all countries, allowing acceptance and active participation in the mission.

In February, China and Pakistan signed the "Agreement on the Selection, Training of Pakistani Astronauts, and Participation in China's Space Station Flight Missions." A Pakistani astronaut will be selected and arranged to enter China's space station for short-term flight missions with Chinese astronauts in the coming years. China's space station will welcome its first foreign astronaut.

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Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7496791726309343759/

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