MOON: SPACEX VS CHINA

 

Here's a text published recently on X (Twitter).

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(October 18, 2024)

An illuminating article about the current race to the Moon.

It is increasingly clear, though, that this race will probably not be between the respective space agencies of America and China. For one, the once-mighty NASA has become a shadow of itself.

Its new rocket is a monstrosity that cost a fortune and is a one-shot affair. And its plan for bringing a crew on the surface of the Moon is, compared to China's much simpler and doable approach, a complex logistical nightmare where everything can go wrong, and where something, somewhere, somehow probably will.

In a long-term program of lunar exploration and exploitation, NASA seems doomed to fail, especially in a country with out-of-control deficits, exploding national debt, and more pressing needs.

This Moon Race 2.0 should really oppose China and SpaceX, not China and NASA. It is becoming increasingly clear that America's only chance of getting ahead in this field (and avoiding a national disgrace) is to take stock of the situation and do the right thing, gradually ditching the NASA's lunar program and putting its money, its sweat and its efforts on the one horse that seems to be able to deliver something: SpaceX.

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/10/17/spacex-is-nasas-biggest-lunar-rival

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PLUS:  @charles.millar3 (X-Twitter)