The United States and China have ambitious plans for space exploration in the future. In order to achieve these goals, both nations will need to lean heavily on international support, and as reported on Wednesday, Oct. 30, the U.S. has taken the lead over Beijing.
The two adversaries are getting as many nations on board with their plans to explore space as they can. The American-led effort known as NASA’s Artemis program aims to send astronauts back to the moon by 2026. However the ultimate goal is building a lunar space station and launching missions to Mars and beyond.
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Meanwhile, China plans to build an International Lunar Research Station with phase one expected to be completed by 2035.
However, the United States is currently notching more wins with Chile, the Dominican Republic, Estonia and Cyprus recently joining its coalition. The U.S. now has 47 nations working together on the mission.
Beijing is behind the U.S. in that respect, touting 13 nations as members of its international agreement with Senegal the latest to join in September. However, experts note, there are still many countries up for grabs to join each country’s respective partnerships.
NASA’s Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said despite setbacks with the Artemis program, like being overbudget, the diplomatic efforts will continue. The agency sees diplomacy and international cooperation as the key to the future of space exploration.
