Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

China is rapidly advancing its lunar exploration program and is expected to eventually send taikonauts to the Moon, AzerNEWS reports.

This statement was made by Jared Isaacman, head of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), during an appearance on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan on CBS.

According to him, the United States and China are now in a new phase of space competition, particularly in preparations for future crewed lunar missions. The central question, he said, is which country will successfully return humans to the Moon first.

“Of course, we are in a space race right now, and China is moving at an incredible speed. There is no doubt that Chinese taikonauts will land on the Moon. The real question is whether the U.S. will get back there before they do,” Isaacman said.

He also emphasized that this competition is not just symbolic, but could shape the future of space exploration, resource utilization on the Moon, and even long-term human presence beyond Earth.

Meanwhile, Carlos Garcia-Galan, head of NASA’s lunar base program, recently expressed concerns about the United States’ readiness for upcoming crewed lunar missions. The schedule for NASA’s Artemis program has already shifted several times: the planned 2027 landing under Artemis III has been delayed to 2028, which is now expected to occur under Artemis IV.

NASA currently aims to establish a sustainable lunar presence step by step. By 2029, the agency hopes to provide astronauts with regular access to the lunar surface for scientific research and technology testing. Later, the goal is to begin building basic infrastructure for a permanent lunar base. By around 2032, NASA envisions maintaining a continuous human presence on the Moon.

Interestingly, analysts note that this renewed “space race” differs significantly from the Cold War era. Today’s competition is not only about national prestige, but also about strategic resources such as lunar water ice, which could be used for fuel production, and about establishing early infrastructure for future missions to Mars. In this sense, the Moon is increasingly seen not as a destination, but as a stepping stone for deep space exploration.