NASA voiced concern about the pace of China's lunar exploration plans.
Jared Isaacman, NASA Director General, appeared on CBS's Face the Nation on the 5th (local time) and said, "The United States and China are locked in intense space competition."
China recently launched the crewed spacecraft Shenzhou 23 and succeeded in docking with the Tiangong space station, accelerating its space development. China aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030.
Director General Isaacman said of China, "They are moving at an almost unbelievable pace," and noted, "China could accomplish things that the former Soviet Union did not during the first space race."
Regarding the lunar landing timeline, Isaacman said, "China has 2029 in mind, and the United States is targeting late 2028," adding, "The difference between the two countries' timelines is only a few months."
The United States plans to send astronauts back to the moon by 2028 and begin building a lunar base in the early 2030s. Artemis III, slated for launch next year, will carry out a mission to test the lunar landing system. The success or failure of this mission is expected to be a key inflection point in the U.S. plan to land astronauts on the moon by 2028.
Director General Isaacman said, "If astronauts land on the moon in 2028, the buildout of infrastructure for lunar base construction will begin," adding, "In the early 2030s, the moon could be utilized like the International Space Station (ISS)." He added, "Astronauts will stay on the moon for relatively long periods to become familiar with the lunar environment and, based on that, prepare for Mars exploration."