At the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the United States, on July 29, 2021, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson gives a speech prior to the launch of an Atlas V rocket carrying Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule to the International Space Station in a do-over test flight. —Reuters
Over the past ten years, China’s space programme has accelerated.
Chinese space programme is a military one, according to NASA chief.
Unmanned lunar missions are being planned by China.
Over the past ten years, China’s space programme has accelerated, with a concentration on moon exploration. Aiming to launch rockets powerful enough to take astronauts to the moon by the end of this decade, China made its first unmanned lunar landing in 2013.
In an interview with the German daily Bild that was published on Saturday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said: “We must be very concerned that China is landing on the moon and saying: ‘It’s ours now and you stay out’,”
According to the head of the US space agency, China’s space programme is a military one, and China has stolen concepts and technology from other countries.
Zhao Lijian, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, stated: “This is not the first time the head of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration has neglected the truth and spoken carelessly about China.
“The US side has constantly constructed a smear campaign against China’s normal and reasonable outer space endeavours, and China firmly opposes such irresponsible remarks.”
He claimed that China has consistently supported the development of a shared future for humanity in space and opposes its militarization and any space weapons race.
In accordance with the Artemis programme, NASA intends to launch a crewed spacecraft into lunar orbit in 2024 and conduct a crewed landing there by 2025.
Unmanned expeditions to the south pole of the moon are being planned by China during this decade.
