FPI / November 29, 2024

Geostrategy-Direct

By Richard Fisher

Both the United States and China have issued recent markers demonstrating progress in their respective programs to put people on the Moon, affirming an accelerating race to occupy the Moon for strategic and economic gain.

In a Nov. 19 press release, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that its two main Human Landing System (HLS) space ship providers, the SpaceX Corporation led by Elon Musk and the Blue Origin Corporation led by Jeff Bezos, will be tasked with developing heavy cargo transport versions of their spacecraft to service missions of the Artemis Moon exploration program into the 2030s.

NASA announced on Nov. 19 that it intends to contract with SpaceX, left, and Blue Origin, right, to develop heavy cargo transport versions of their Human Landing System (HLS) spacecraft. / SpaceX and Blue Origin via NASA

The release stated, “NASA plans for at least two delivery missions with large cargo.

The agency intends for SpaceX’s Starship cargo lander to deliver a pressurized rover, currently in development by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), to the lunar surface no earlier than fiscal year 2032 in support of Artemis VII and later missions. The agency expects Blue Origin to deliver a lunar surface habitat no earlier than fiscal year 2033.”

In theory, the SpaceX HLS could transport between 50 and 100 tons of cargo to the Moon while the smaller Blue Moon Mk.2 lander of Blue Origin Corporation could deliver 30 tons in a one-way mission.

In the U.S. race with China, the American potential to place heavy payloads on the Moon in single missions could provide a crucial early advantage in establishing multiple bases on the Moon that could — if required — better defend the U.S. position and its activities with partner nations.

Three days later on Nov. 21, China revealed some of the content of the 6th Manned Spaceflight Academic Conference, that opened the same day, hosted by the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSO).

The most important revelation was a short gif-length video that for the first time revealed the full-size prototype of China’s Lanyue Moon landing vehicle in a test chamber.

Consistent with China’s desire to limit transparency regarding sensitive strategic national security programs, it has not provided advance public information about its programs to send people to the Moon.

Instead, since late 2018 there has been a steady drip of data points regarding China’s assembling Moon architecture, to include the first revelation on a clear drawing in December 2020 and the revelation of a model of its Moon lander in February 2023.

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