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Could China Beat U.S. To Mars? New Chinese Space Program Threatens U.S. Superiority

By Coburn Palmer
Published on: 09:04 PST, Apr 22, 2016

With reusable rockets, a space station of its own, a possible moon landing, and ambitions for a mission to Mars, the Chinese space agency could outpace the United States in interstellar superiority.

The Chinese space agency is making quick advances in technology that are enabling it to launch its own space station before sending a mission to Mars, an agency spokesman told Reuters this week.

“If the International Space Station, which has extended its service, is retired by 2024, China’s new space station will be the only operational one in outer space.”

Work is also continuing on a Mars rover program that aims to imitate the success of the U.S. Viking 1 mission that first landed on the red planet in 1976, China National Space Administration head Xu Dazhe told the Associated Press.

What we would like to do is to orbit Mars, make a landing, and rove around for reconnaissance in one mission, which is quite a challenge. This is a project that has attracted much attention from both the science and space fields.

China also plans to build its own Hubble Space Telescope and has announced the creation of a prototype reusable rocket similar to the one successfully test landed by Space X earlier this month.

China’s space program is accelerating, but the country is still trying to catch up to the United States and Russia who established their dominance in space decades ago.

In 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit aboard an experimental space lab, the Tiangong 1, before returning to Earth. Later that year, the Chang’e 3 probe made the first “soft landing” on the moon since 1976 when it deployed the Jade Rabbit moon rover to great applause at home. The rover is now out of commission, but it deployed a telescope on the moon that is still operational.

A huge source of Chinese national pride, the military-backed space program plans 20 launches this year.

The ambitious Chinese space program plans to launch a larger, permanent space station, Tiangong 2, into space this year along with the spaceship Shenzhou with two astronauts aboard. A manned mission to the moon may not be far away, Chinese officials told Reuters.

“Two space labs will be launched later and dock with the core module, Tianhe-1. The construction of the space station is expected to finish in 2022.”

The rapidly expanding Chinese space program is largely fueled by the massive “Long March” rockets whose powerful engines can carry 13 tons of satellites, robotic rovers, and astronauts into orbit.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is making huge strides with its privately funded space programs. Elon Musk’s Space X recently test landed a recyclable rocket on a drone ship while astronauts attached an inflatable module to the International Space Station that could be used to create hotels in space.

The Kevlar-plated BEAM will be replaced with an inflatable space blimp in 2020 complete with living quarters and a zero g toilet.

NASA’s current space objectives are to capture an asteroid, tow into orbit near Earth, and send astronauts to visit the space rock in 2020 as it prepares for a manned mission to Mars in 2030.

NASA scientists are currently forbidden from working with the Chinese space program thanks to a 2011 spending bill passed by congress, according to Tech Insider.

China’s efforts to use its space program to transform itself into a military, economic, and technological power may come at the expense of U.S. leadership and has serious implications for U.S. interests.

(Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

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