Will China Be Next on the Moon?

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.