NASA shelves Artemis I unmanned mission to the moon and back while China tries to keep abreast of America

China is becoming Asia’s rapidly growing space power. It is progressing on its own program to put both robotic and crewed spacecraft on the lunar surface. It wants to keep pace with NASA-led achievements. Ambitious plans of China include sample-return missions from the Moon, landings at the South Pole and sending astronauts there on a short-term visit. In 2024, there are plans to collect rock samples from the far side of the moon. Incidentally, in 2019, China became the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon. Subsequently, Chang’e-5 mission in 2020 carried out the first sampling of lunar material in over four decades. It brought 1.731 grams of lunar rocks to Earth. Then Chang’e-6 plans to collect fresh samples. China’s Moon Missions Shadow NASA Artemis’s Pace. Study of these samples could provide answers to the geological past of the Moon. That is what a planetary scientist of the University of Manchester, England.

The next mission would be Chang’e-6 in 2024. It will focus on the lunar south pole where NASA plans to land Artemis 3 crewed mission. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is the country’s main space contractor. It is developing a new rocket that will be specifically meant for launching astronauts beyond low Earth orbit. NASA is leading humanity’s journey to the moon, but China is not too far behind. It is gradually accumulating capabilities for its long-term ambitions.

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China finetuning its space program with launch of two heavy carrier rockets

China is finetuning its space programs and plan to send two new models of its heavy carrier rocket on their maiden space trips this year. This has been announced by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASC) and reported in zeenews.india.com dated 17 January 2016.

China's strongest carrier rocket is Long March-5 and it has a payload capacity of 25 tonnes to low Earth orbit, or 14 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit. It would be carrying the Chang'e-5 lunar probe around 2017 to finish the last chapter in China's three-step (orbiting, landing and return) moon exploration program.
As per the statement of CASC, Long March-5 is at present being tested at a launch site in south China's Hainan Province.
The second activity is for a medium-sized rocket Long March-7 to carry up to 13.5 tonnes to low Earth orbit or 5.5 tonnes to sun-synchronous orbit at a height of 700 kilometers. It will be using a liquid propellant. This will carry cargo craft for the planned space station.
The CASC has said that success of these two carrier rockets' maiden flights will significantly boost China's ability to enter space and help realize leapfrog development in its space transportation system.
Both the rockets were developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology under the CASC. The academy would be responsible for the launch of 15 space missions this year. These would cover manned space projects, China's satellite navigation system and satellites for civilian and commercial uses.
This year (2016) China's Long March-3B rocket has taken a Belarusian telecom satellite into intended orbit from southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center. It was China's first orbital mission of 2016 and the 223rd launch of the Long March series.


(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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