China could claim resource-rich regions of moon: Report | Tech News

China could claim resource-rich regions of moon: Report

According to the IPCSC report, China's efforts to use its space program to transform itself into a military, economic, and technological power will soon reshape the world order.

By:ANI
| Updated on: Jan 29 2023, 16:10 IST
How well do you know Earth's Moon? How did it form, rotation, its orbit? Get up close and familiar- 5 points
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1/5 How did the Moon form? According to the information provided by NASA, the leading theory behind the formation of the Moon is that a Mars-sized object collided with Earth billions of years ago, and debris from this collision eventually formed the Moon. (NASA)
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2/5 Moon's rotation: The time it takes for the Moon to rotate once on its axis is equal to the time it takes for the Moon to orbit once around Earth. This keeps the same side of the Moon facing towards Earth throughout the month. (NASA)
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3/5 Moon orbit Earth: According to NASA, the Moon takes about one month to orbit Earth (27.3 days to complete a revolution, but 29.5 days to change from New Moon to New Moon). As the Moon completes each 27.3-day orbit around Earth, both Earth and the Moon are moving around the Sun. Because of this change in position, sunlight appears to hit the Moon at a slightly different angle on day 27 than it does on day zero ― even though the Moon itself has already traveled all the way around Earth. It takes a little more than two additional days for sunlight to hit the Moon in the same way it did on day zero. This is why it takes 29.5 days to get from new moon to new moon, even though it doesn’t take quite that long for the Moon itself to travel once around Earth. (NASA)
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4/5 Does the Moon have gravity? What would happen if there was no Moon? The Moon does have gravity. Because the Moon has less mass than Earth, its gravitational pull is weaker (about one-sixth of Earth’s). On the Moon, you will be able to jump about six times as high as you can on Earth ― but you would still come back down, informs NASA. Also, If there would be no Moon, Earth would be a very different world. The Moon’s gravity keeps our planet from wobbling on its axis too much, which helps to stabilize our climate. The Moon also plays an important role in creating tides in Earth’s oceans. (NASA)
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5/5 Who Has Walked on the Moon? Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the first of 12 human beings to walk on the Moon. Four of America's moonwalkers are still alive: Aldrin (Apollo 11), David Scott (Apollo 15), Charles Duke (Apollo 16), and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17). In all, 24 American astronauts made the trip from Earth to the Moon between 1968 and 1972. Three astronauts made the journey from Earth to the Moon twice: James Lovell (Apollo 8 and Apollo 13), John Young (Apollo 10 and Apollo 16), and Gene Cernan (Apollo 10 and Apollo 17). (NASA)
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China, last year, built a space station orbiting the Earth and performed several missions around the moon to extract samples. (NASA)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has warned that China could claim resource-rich regions of the moon as its own as the country intends to gain economic benefits through space exploration, the Indo-Pacific Center for Strategic Communications (IPCSC) reported.

According to the IPCSC report, China's efforts to use its space program to transform itself into a military, economic, and technological power will soon reshape the world order. China in 2020, announced its plans to establish an economic zone with an output value of USD 10 trillion.

Nelson in an interview with Politico on January 1, said he was concerned that China would build scientific research facilities in a desirable area on the moon and then claim sovereignty over it.

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China, last year, built a space station orbiting the Earth and performed several missions around the moon to extract samples. Beijing also plans to build an autonomous lunar research station near the moon's south pole, which is expected to begin in 2025, IPCSC reported.

China for economic gain and strategic reasons is trying to win the space war. Nina Armagno, Chief of Staff of the US Space Force, on November 27, 2022, told the Australian Strategic Policy Institute that she was concerned that China would catch up and overtake the US and possibly militarise space.

According to Armagno, China is developing military space technologies such as satellite communications and reusable spacecraft, such as China's Long March 8R, and Long March 9, as well as suborbital and orbital spacecraft.

According to IPCSC, Wu Yansheng, Chairman of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), on December 20, outlined China's space development goals, including manned moon landings, the establishment of space transportation infrastructure, and the provision of on-orbit services. He also revealed Beijing's vision for space management, space law and the space domain.

China plans to launch more than 200 spacecraft with over 60 space missions in 2023, according to a CASC blue paper released on 16 January. The paper said that the Tianzhou-6 cargo craft, the Shenzhou-16 and the Shenzhou-17 flight missions would take place within the year to improve China's capability of entering, using and exploring space.

The CASC will comprehensively push forward the fourth phase of lunar exploration and planetary exploration in 2023 and will develop the lunar probe Chang'e-7, Mars probe Tianwen-2, as well as stationary orbit-microwave detection satellite.

The carrier rocket Long March-6C will make its maiden flight in 2023, while the Long March carrier rocket series is expected to exceed 500 launches in aggregate, said the blue paper, according to the IPCSC report.

The report says that while the moon and Mars colonisation is a distant prospect, China and Russia already have "killer satellites" that could destroy US satellites and wreak havoc on ground forces. In order to curb China's space ambitions, former US President Donald Trump established the Space Force in 2019 as the sixth branch of the US military.

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First Published Date: 29 Jan, 16:08 IST
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