Chinese space authorities plan to complete its unmanned lunar space station, built alongside Russia, around 2027, reports state media.
China's Chang'e 8 moon landing mission was originally intended to conduct scientific studies such as 3D-printing lunar dust, but the administration's new goal, according to the Deputy Director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) Wu Yanhua, is to place an unmanned research station on the lunar surface, which was originally slated for 2035.
The new strategy, which is eight years ahead of schedule, will assist China in gaining a competitive edge over the U.S. in the space race.
Wu stated that the mission's goal was to "build a solid foundation for the peaceful use of lunar resources," though he did not elaborate on the grounds for the decision.
The abrupt change in China's goals could be tied to NASA's planned moon landing in 2025, which is a year later than China's but still ahead of schedule. Artemis is a rather complicated program.
It will necessitate the construction of a facility in lunar orbit akin to the International Space Station, at a cost of $100 billion by 2025. NASA previously indicated that the first landing could be postponed for several years due to technical and other issues.
Zhang Chongfeng, Deputy Chief Designer of China's Manned Space Program, has criticized the U.S. for promoting an "Enclosure Movement" on the moon, just after the Chang'e 5-T1 mission returned lunar samples to Earth in 2014. The Enclosure Movement was a push in the 18th and 19th centuries by British nobles to take land that had previously been owned in common by all members of a village.
The Artemis Accords are a set of guidelines recommended by the U.S. government and NASA to govern future lunar activity. The accords, which have already been signed by more than a dozen U.S. allies, empower governments or private firms to secure their installations or "heritage sites" by establishing safety zones that prevent anyone from entering.
China and Russia are the only countries that oppose the accords, saying that they violate current international norms such as the United Nations Moon Agreement. The Moon Treaty, according to Zhang, declares that the moon belongs to the entire human species.
Its lunar base will be "open to all interested countries and international partners" and will place China and Russia at the forefront of a new age of global space cooperation.
For years, China's lunar program has advanced steadily and at its own pace, with Chinese space officials frequently insisting that the country was not interested in a space race comparable to the one that existed during the Cold War.
