The director of the US space agency, NASA, Bill Nelson, has warned in an interview with the German newspaper ‘Bild’ that China intends to build a lunar base in collaboration with Russia in what would be a first step to “seize” the satellite.
“We must be very worried that China is going to land on the Moon to say: now it is ours and you stay out”Nelson stated in the interview, published last Saturday.
In fact, Nelson believes that there is a new space race to reach the Moon, “this time with China.” The United States plans a trip to the Moon by 2025 and for the first time a woman will travel. Beijing is going further and hopes to have an operational lunar base in 2035.
In particular there would be a race to control the Moon’s south pole for the presence of water reservoirs that could be used to make rocket fuel.
When questioned about the purpose of the Chinese presence in space, Nelson responded irritably: “Well, what do you think is happening on the Chinese space station? There they learn to destroy the satellites of others”.
Thus, he pointed out that China has spent years researching technology to “catch” satellites with robotic arms or nets or crash them, supposedly to clean up its own space debris, but could also be used to attack other countries.
The head of NASA has stressed that “China’s space program is a military space program” and has once again denounced the theft of technology that has fueled its nuclear program. “China is good, but China is also good because it steals ideas and technology from others”, she has indicated.
China plans to finish building this year The Tiangong space station, whose name means “Heavenly Palace” in Mandarin, will weigh about 70 tons and is expected to operate for about 15 years orbiting about 400 kilometers from the Earth’s surface.
Once completed, missions in which astronauts spend several months on the station will be common.
The Tiangong will be shaped like a “T”, and the Tianhe -Central Cabin Module is the fundamental element of the Chinese space station- will be located in the center, with the laboratory modules on each side.
The space station program has among its objectives to provide “a space laboratory that serves for long stays of astronauts, as well as large experiments,” Bai Linhou, one of those responsible for the design of the Tianhe module, said last year.
In 2024, it is likely to become the world’s only space station if the International Space Station, a US-led initiative, retires that year as planned.
In recent years, the Chinese space program has managed to land the Chang’e 4 probe on the far side of the Moon – the first time it has been achieved – and reach Mars for the first time, becoming the third country – after the United States and the former Soviet Union – to land.
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Source-www.infobae.com