China Found New Minerals on Moon, Dragon Planning More Lunar Mission in Future
Beijing– The world has witnessed numerous conflicts. Many wars have been waged in some continue even as you speak. Some wars like the one in Ukraine, and some others like in Cyberspace. But now the rivalries between two superpowers have stretched beyond the boundaries of our planet. The US and China have locked horns over a piece of the moon.
NASA has lashed out at China, the US space agency wants the Chinese to be open and transparent about its lunar mission. And both the superpowers are focusing on the lunar south pole, which remains the least explored and is of much scientific interest.
US-China Space War has Just Started
NASA has identified 13 potential landing sites on the lunar surface. This is part of the Artemis’ three-crewed mission which is scheduled for 2025. NASA has ambitious plans to be back on the moon’s surface for the first time in half a century.
But these plans may go already as Beijing two is eyeing the same spots. Slowly but surely China is moving step by step to leave its mark on the moon. It has already put robotic probes on our planet’s only natural satellite.
By 2030, China aims to have put its first astronauts on the moon it further wants to send probes to collect samples from Mars and Jupiter. So clearly the US is alarmed.
China has become only the third country to discover a new mineral on the moon it was found and rock and dust samples were retrieved from the moon by China’s Chang five mission.
The mission was launched in 2020. The Chinese probe returned with the lunar sample. The US and Russia are the other two countries who have done so till date it is the sixth new mineral humans have discovered on the moon.
Clearly, the rivalries between Washington and Beijing are not limited to trade wars alone, but could well spill out into space. China’s space technology was lagging behind the US but over the past decade, the gap has been narrowed.
READ ALSO:- Joe Biden’s plan to forgive student loans would cost $24 billion a year, White House Says
And NASA isn’t lying cold either. It has accelerated its Artemis program and plans to eventually build a lunar space station.
Photo via:- Screenshot from Youtube.com/NASA
