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Xinhua / Ren Junchuan via Getty Images
China’s increasingly ambitious space program completed a 23-day mission on Wednesday that culminated in the return of about 2 kg of rocks from the Moon. During the final phase of the mission, a scorched spacecraft carrying the lunar cargo landed in Mongolia and was recovered by Chinese teams.
This Chang’e 5 mission represents a significant success for China and its space program, becoming only the third nation, after the United States with its manned Apollo program and the Soviet Union with a robotic program in the 1970s, to return samples. of the moon. .
During a post-landing press conference, Chinese officials said they would emulate the United States and the Soviet Union by sharing the samples with international partners, including the United Nations. However, sharing material with the United States seems unlikely due to the Wolf Amendment, a law passed by Congress in 2011 that prohibits direct cooperation with China.
“The Chinese government is willing to share samples, including data, with all institutions in other like-minded countries,” said Wu Yanhua, deputy administrator of the China National Space Administration. However, he later called the Wolf Amendment adopted by Congress “unfortunate” and indicated that direct cooperation with NASA likely would not occur.
Some US space officials, including former NASA administrator Charles Bolden, have called for the Wolf Amendment to be repealed and have said the space agency should be able to work with China on current and future problems. However, the US Congress has continued to block this due to concerns about the potential theft of US technology that could arise from such partnerships. It is unclear whether the Biden administration will review these rules.
Now that this mission is complete, China intends to continue expanding its lunar program. Then, in a few years, the Chang’e 6 mission will seek to return 2 kg of rocks from the South Pole of the Moon and investigate the prevalence of water ice in the region. Future missions will include landers, bases, and more opportunities for scientific research.
During the press conference, Wu said the country would eventually send humans, called taikonauts in China, to the moon, but did not set a date for this mission. The country has yet to develop various technologies for this to happen. However, he said, when China goes to the moon, it will be to conduct research and benefit humanity, not as part of a “space race” like the one the United States and the Soviet Union launched in the 1960s.
NASA is also interested in returning to the Moon with humans during the 2020s. However, it will not be clear whether China’s growing interest in the Earth Companion prompts Congress or the Biden administration to more fully fund the ambitions. of NASA’s Artemis program until the next two budget cycles are completed.
