While the US plans to resume lunar exploration by 2020 using its new Orion spacecraft, China is also capable of putting a man on the moon within the next decade if it so wishes, according to NASA administrator Michael Griffin.
In 2003, China became the third nation to launch a person into orbit, and although Sun Laiyan, head of the Chinese National Space Administration, says a lunar landing is "inevitable," Chinese officials have revealed no set timetable for a lunar landing, and don't foresee it happening before 2020.
Despite reassurance from the Chinese government, there is a perception among many in the space industry that the US is losing ground in its dominance of space exploration.
Regardless of which country will be next to put a man on the moon, Dr. Griffin reports that the US and China are taking preliminary steps toward collaborative activities.
China is capable of sending a manned mission to the Moon within the next decade, if it so wishes, Nasa administrator Michael Griffin has said. The US space agency plans to return people to the lunar surface by 2020 using its new Orion spacecraft. ...