NASA Reveals Detailed Plans for Permanent Lunar Base, Intensifying U.S.-China Moon Race

The U.S. space agency (NASA) has unveiled details of a series of equipment slated for transport to the Moon, including robotic landers, hopping drones (hybrid robots combining flight and ground-bound jumping mobility), lunar rovers, and more—key components of America's plan to establish a lunar base.

Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, is among the selected firms chosen to manufacture these devices.

The United States aims to send humans back to the Moon before President Trump (Donald Trump, Trump) leaves office in 2029.

However, NASA is now competing with China on lunar missions, meaning the agency faces mounting pressure to win this new space race.

China is actively advancing its own plans, targeting a crewed Moon landing before 2030.

On Monday, China launched the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, ferrying a crew of astronauts to the Tiangong space station.

In March this year, NASA announced a $20 billion initiative to establish a permanent lunar base near the Moon’s south pole by 2032, powered by nuclear and solar energy.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said on Tuesday, May 26, that these announcements signify the U.S. will "no longer give up on the Moon."

Establishing such a base would allow the U.S. to conduct scientific experiments, extract potentially valuable resources, and make future missions to Mars significantly easier.

Nevertheless, most experts believe NASA’s timeline is overly ambitious.

Although the U.S. successfully completed Artemis II (Artemis-2) in April, sending four astronauts into lunar orbit without landing, some scientists argue that China may become the next nation to place humans on the lunar surface.

Dr. Simeon Barber, a lunar scientist at the Open University in the UK, told BBC: "Given the setbacks NASA has faced in developing spacecraft capable of carrying humans to the Moon, I wouldn’t be surprised if China lands first."

NASA’s "Ignition Moon Base" program is divided into three phases.

Before sending humans to the Moon, the agency plans to dispatch robotic landers and hopping drones to explore and map the lunar terrain.

At the same time, NASA will also transport wheeled vehicles capable of traversing the lunar surface to assist astronaut mobility, equipped with communication systems and scientific instruments.

On Tuesday, NASA announced that companies including Blue Origin, Intuitive Machines, and Astrobotic have secured contracts to build these systems.

NASA hopes Blue Origin’s lunar lander, named "Endurance," will feature precise landing capabilities, as well as autonomous navigation and control functions.

The Astrobotic Griffin-1 lander is expected to touch down near the Nobile Crater close to the Moon’s south pole.

These devices will also deliver scientific instruments to NASA, including high-resolution cameras and laser reflectors to aid spacecraft landings.

Carlos García-Galán, the program’s executive director, said on Tuesday that mechanical exploration missions during this phase will continue until 2029, during which approximately 25 launches are expected, delivering 4 metric tons of cargo to the lunar surface.

Next, NASA plans to construct nuclear and solar power facilities on the Moon, including a nuclear fission reactor.

By 2032, the agency hopes humans can live in semi-permanent habitats on the Moon.

Exploration rovers will also enable astronauts to travel long distances across the rocky lunar surface.

The Moon’s south pole is particularly attractive due to frozen water resources that could be used for drinking or producing oxygen.

Yet, NASA’s plans hinge on whether it can develop a spacecraft capable of safely transporting humans to the lunar surface.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has signed a contract for the Starship Human Landing System, but has encountered multiple setbacks and delays.

Dr. Simeon Barber stated: "The critical bottleneck lies in how safely we can get astronauts to the lunar surface."

"In my view, NASA seems to be entering a stage where it must begin publicly announcing its plans—I believe there are strong political motivations behind this."

Source: BBC

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1866755962251268/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.