The United States warns that China plans to seize and control the south pole of the Moon due to the presence of water deposits: “We should be worried”, he warns.

In an interview given to Bild, a German newspaper, the director of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), Bill Nelson, stated that the United States is once again involved in a “space race”, this time facing China. This new phase refers to the historical dispute maintained with the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War.

Revealing their initial intentions of moving astronauts to live on Earth's natural satellite, China and Russia have joint plans to build a permanent base on the Moon, a space venture that unfolds in three distinct phases.

Nelson issued a warning about China's aspirations, in collaboration with Russia, to consolidate a dominant presence on the Moon, in a clear attempt to “claim” the celestial body for itself. “We should be very worried about China landing on the moon to say: Now it's ours and you can't come“, he declared.

Asian country wants to control the south pole of the Moon due to the presence of water deposits 

According to Nelson's statements, a competition to control the south pole of the Moon due to the presence of water deposits that could be used to make rocket fuel.

Asked about the purpose of the Chinese presence in space, he replied: “Well, what do you think is happening on the Chinese space station? There they learn to destroy other people's satellites“. China has been researching technology for years to “catch” satellites with robotic arms or nets or make them crash, supposedly to clean up its own space debris.

But this also could be used to attack other countries, argued the NASA director. According to Nelson, “China’s space program is a military space program.” “China is also good because it steals ideas and technology from others,” he noted.

China wants to take over the Moon

In recent years, China has significantly accelerated its space program, emerging as a power in the field of developing technologies aimed at space exploration and exploitation. The country announced, with great ambition, its plan to build the first human city on the Moon, a feat that would represent the 'eighth continent of humanity' and which it seeks to conquer.

China and Russia's timetable for conquering the Moon consists of three phases: the first of them has actually already started and consists of recognizing the place and studying it to decide where to place the lunar base. This reconnaissance phase began with the Chang'e 4 mission and will also include the Chang'e 6 and 7 missions, as well as the Russian Luna 25, 26 and 27. All of them must be launched before 2025 and thus have data to choose where to place the station

The second phase is the construction phase of the International Lunar Research Station. This second phase will take place from 2026 to 2030. It will essentially consist of sending heavy loads and at the same time bringing lunar samples from the location where the station will be installed. Includes the Chang'e 8 and Luna 28 missions.

The third phase is also a construction phase, it will begin in 2031 and is expected to end in 2035. In this phase, the station's basic infrastructure and system are expected to be completed on the lunar surface and in orbit (because a part of the station will be orbiting the Moon). Here the missions will be called ILRS-1 and successively. There will be direct collaborations between Russia, China and the rest of the countries that want to join together.

China discovers the 'eighth continent': China's first city on the Moon, a historic milestone for humanity

The Chinese Space Agency (CNSA) has announced plans to build a permanent city on the Moon before 2036. This ambitious project is known as the Moon Research Program and will send robotic missions to the Moon over the next decade to prepare the ground for a human presence at long term.

The project's main objectives are to exploit lunar resources such as helium-3 and establish a self-sufficient lunar base. CNSA plans to send unmanned orbiters, rovers and landers on successive missions to identify suitable construction sites, extract lunar samples and deploy infrastructure.

The use of 3D printers and nanotechnology is anticipated to build underground habitable modules protected from solar radiation. Initially, Chinese astronauts would visit the base for short periods to assemble components sent by rockets.

The tentative timeline began with a lunar sample return mission in 2022, followed by missions to establish a small research base in the same decade and expand it to a larger facility in the 2030s. Construction of the city is expected to begin around 2036.

This is what the city of China will look like on the Moon:

The planned Chinese lunar city will be unlike any human settlement built before on Earth or in space. It is estimated that the city will cover an area of ​​about 30 kilometers, similar in size to a small city on Earth.

However, it will be designed to meet the unique needs of a lunar environment. Buildings and infrastructure will be contained within enormous pressurized inflatable domes to protect residents from hostile lunar surface conditions such as radiation and meteorite impacts.

Inside the domes, residents will enjoy a controlled Earth-like atmosphere. The city is planned to house between 1000 and 10 residents, with residential modules, research and production facilities, hydroponic agriculture, educational centers, medical facilities, recreation spaces and much more.