NASA administrator is confident that Beijing will soon claim rights to the Earth's natural satellite and interfere with others
It is noteworthy that right now both the United States and China are actively working on lunar missions.
NASA, China and moon bases
In December 2020, NASA presented 18men and women who were selected to take part in the first Artemis missions. Now the American aerospace agency is actively preparing for launch tests, which will take place in August 2022.
Flight to the Moon of a ship with a crewof four people with a planned landing of two of them on the surface in 2025. As part of the Artemis I mission, a woman is to fly to the moon for the first time. NASA also announced the start of a competition for the development of nuclear power plants capable of operating on the Moon. Three American companies will participate in it: Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse and IX.
Moreover, in 2019, China became the first countrywhich landed a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon. That same year, China and Russia announced joint plans to reach the South Pole of the Moon by 2026. The South China Morning Post also reported that Beijing plans to build a permanent crewed International Lunar Research Station by 2027.
But does China's creation of a lunar base mean orNASA's actual "capture" of the Moon? Svetla Ben-Itzhak and R. Lincoln Hines, assistant professors at Air University in Alabama, USA, are sure not. They published their findings in The Conversation magazine.
Are there enough resources?
Chinese authorities are investing heavily inspace. In 2021, he was the leader in the number of launches into orbit. In total, there were 55 of them, and the United States had 51. As of 2021, Beijing was among the top three in the deployment of spacecraft. Chinese state-owned space company StarNet plans to create a mega-constellation of 12,992 satellites, and the country has almost completed construction of the Tiangong space station.
However, despite this, the “capture” of the Moon is worthtoo expensive, scientists are sure. China's space budget, estimated at $13 billion in 2020 and up 17%, is only about half of NASA's. This is clearly not enough.
What does the law say about this?
Legally, China cannot capture the Moon - this iscontradicts current international space law and the Outer Space Treaty. It was adopted in 1967 and signed by 134 countries, including Beijing. According to it, “outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation, either by declaration of sovereignty over it, or by use or occupation, or by any other means.” This means that no country can take possession of the Moon. If China tries to do this, it could provoke an international conflict.
As a result, if China takes control of any part of the moon, it will be a risky, costly and highly provocative move. Besides, it's illegal.
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