China

China Changes Tune to Declare a Fight Over Lunar Far-Side Mining

Now that China has successfully returned samples from the Moon, they’ve taken a much firmer stance on future plans. Instead of “cooperating” with U.S. and other countries for resources, it will be a “competition.” Nobody actually trusted the sneaky communists anyway.

China turns aggressive

The China National Space Administration recently made a “shock decision.” They’re on record “fiercely” stating “they’d never compete with the U.S.” for lunar resources. Never say never. They can cooperate in the beginning but on down the road is a different story, they now assert.

It is foreseeable that in the next 20 to 30 years, China’s International Lunar Research Station and the U.S. Artemis program will compete.

It appears that the Pooh Bear’s been reading some classic science fiction. CNSA promises they “will compete in terms of technology and operational efficiency on the same historical stage and at the same geographical location.” Both nations are staking claims to the lunar south pole. Back in the cold war “Space Race” of the 1960’s, the competition was stiff.

The Russians orbited the first satellite. In response, the U.S. asserted dominance by landing men on the Moon. The process was so adversarial there wasn’t any plan for more. “In the historical context of that period, the race to demonstrate superior political strength made lunar exploration unsustainable.

China learned a lesson. They’re going to establish a colony and they’ll cooperate, as long as they get first dibs on everything they can get to first. Just like the prospectors of any gold rush. Their plan was unveiled in April but took a while to make the rounds of analysts and reporters.

The title they burdened the report with is “Strategic Concept of Resource Utilisation Development Route of the International Lunar Research Station.” That’s another reason nobody read it until now.

We’re in another Space Race

Fighting for air

Mission Scientist Pei Zhaoyu told The South China Morning Post that “lunar resources will become the focus of the competition.” We’ll be literally fighting for air. If not raw oxygen, then something it can be extracted from.

Water is another key substance on the moon. One of the reasons we’re all headed for the south pole is because there are traces of ice there.

Whether we like it or not, the U.S. is losing the race this time around. The Chinese took the opportunity to rub it in. “Countries such as the United States do not have a distinct edge in this.

China scored some major points by successfully landing a robot rover and then returning samples from the lunar far side.

U.S. Officials aren’t worried about the phrasing buried in the report. They do mention that it marks a shift for China “from a secretive to more open space policy.” It’s nice to see them telling the truth for a change “but Washington has always seen the CNSA as a rival.” Whoever gets there first has a big priority they aren’t talking about.

After the air and water are found, shelters dug from the lunar regolith and food is growing on every available surface, one more job needs done. This one is easy and we have the technology. A mag-lev launcher. One big rock, in a magnetic steel can casing, hurled from such a catapult, could land on either Beijing or Washington, D.C. with a multi-megaton thud. Without all that messy radiation.

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