The tortoise and the hare: will China beat the US in the race back to the moon?

In a new era of space exploration, the United States and China are embarking on a historic mission to return humans to the moon's surface for the first time since the Apollo era. NASA's recent lunar flyby mission marked a crucial step in this endeavor, but the real challenge lies ahead as both countries prepare to establish permanent lunar bases. This ambitious undertaking not only aims to unlock the moon's secrets but also serves as a crucial stepping stone for further human exploration of the solar system, with Mars being the ultimate target. As the space race between the US and China intensifies, the world watches with bated breath to see which nation will achieve this groundbreaking feat first.

The rival superpowers are ramping up preparations for a crewed lunar landing nearly six decades after the first moon walkThe world watched earlier this month as Nasa sent four astronauts around the moon – but to actually land on the surface the US is once again in a space race, this time with China. And China may well win.Both countries plan to build inhabited lunar bases – the first settlement on another celestial body – as well as searching for rare resources and using the deep space environment to test technology for future crewed missions to Mars. Continue reading...