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Revving Up For The Next Space Race

Is China’s plan for a space station an attempt to own the moon entirely?

China has announced that they plan to establish a space station and travel to the moon by 2020, and the nation could be planning a “lunar land grab” over the next 15 years, according to a recent report in Discovery Magazine. Will China’s space endeavors incite the next space race?

“China’s bid to become a power may lead to an arms race in space that could be very costly and dangerous for the world,” Boston University international relations professor William Keylor said in an e-mail interview. “A Chinese lunar base by 2020 would certainly give China an advantage at a time that the United States is reducing its spending on space projects.”

BU astronomy professor Andrew West said China’s decision to travel to the moon may have more to do with the political implications of the endeavor than the resources available on the moon.

“There’s probably not much that’s financially worth in terms of minerals on the moon.  The cost to get to the moon is so great that nothing you bring back is worth it,” he said in an interview. “China has been very prosperous lately. Their plans could have great political ramifications.”

INTERNATIONAL AND INTERGALACTIC POWERS

China’s increasing power has had a great impact on international relations over the past few decades, some BU professors said.

“The rise of China is a source of tremendous anxiety in Washington,” international relations professor Andrew Bacevich said. “Our political leaders don’t know what to make of it. A large scale Chinese space program would just exacerbate those anxieties. You can’t know what the outcome would be.”

One of the big questions is whether a large-scale space race will happen again, Bacevich explained. One possibility is that the U.S. thinks of China’s lunar plans as “interesting science” and will not respond to them. On the other hand, if China’s space program suggests that China is striving for global domination, there may be a different reaction—a second space race, Bacevich said.

Others said they believe that the U.S. does not have the capability to compete with China when it comes to space exploration.

“It is very difficult to imagine that the United States will be able to divert scare funds to a massive space race in light of the severe budgetary constraints that the country currently faces,” Keylor said.

Still, others said they are excited at the prospect of another space race.

“I think it would be good to go back to the moon. Anyone going back, Chinese or American, is exciting,” West said. “If there were a new space race, this time, we might get to see someone walk on Mars. That would be spectacular. We would be pushing the limits of human endeavors.”

According to West, part of this excitement may result from a lack of funding allocated for the U.S. space programs. Under President Bush, there were plans to go back to the moon and Mars. However, the Obama administration put the brakes on these plans since the funds were needed to deal with the recession, West said.

West noted that while scientists drive space missions, space exploration is mainly a political game.

“It is the government that drives space missions,” he said. “The purse strings are held by Congress and everything is based on the whims of our politicians.”

But Congress voted Nov. 17 to restore funding to The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project, a plan for a space telescope that will eventually replace the Hubble Space Telescope.

“The Hubble was an amazing device that captured the imagination of the public in a way that science rarely does,” West said.

West said he does not think that the U.S. will react lightly if China attempts to further explore the moon and other planets.

“I imagine that a large part of our government doesn’t want our ‘tranquility spot’ where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed to be disturbed,” he said. “This place is like a national park to Americans.  I’m sure there would be a rise of nationalism if the Chinese started claiming it.”

ADVENTURING INTO THE UNIVERSE

Some students said they thought more space exploration would be a good thing for the U.S. and the world as a whole.

“With the rate that technology is enabling us to explore the world these days, space exploration is just another outlet for us to expand our knowledge with,” College of Arts and Science sophomore Christina Teng said.

West said that in six U.S. missions to the moon, astronauts brought back 800 pounds of moon rocks to analyze, but there is still much more to explore.

He explained that billions of years ago, there were a countless number of “big objects” crashing into the moon and Earth. It is likely that a giant impact hit the earth around 3.8 billion years ago during a period called the “late heavy bombardment,” which caused rocks from Earth to ricochet into the moon.

“The earliest Earth rock may be on the moon. The first fossilized life may be on the moon,” West said. “Rocks on the earth have been destroyed over time, but you don’t have these problems on the moon.”

Robotic missions will help unveil these secrets, he said.

“These are exciting frontiers to explore. Men on Mars is probably a ways off but until then, we can work on sending robotic missions to places like Europa, a moon of Jupiter, thought to have an ocean and maybe even conditions for life.”

The commercial space travel company Virgin Galactic, owned by Virgin Atlantic, will send human beings on space flights if exploration leads to new developments, according to its website.

West said he believes space travel may become a reality for the ordinary man.

“You know those digital cameras in your cell phone?  They were invented to take images of objects in space,” West says.  “Astronomy is a technology driven field that can trickle down to helping ordinary people. Congress is shortsighted if they stop space programs.”

Our interest in traveling to space may stem from our basic human nature, some think.

“It’s important to know where we lie compared to the rest of the universe,” CAS sophomore Haniya Syeda said. “It’s part of our nature to be curious and want to explore.”

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