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Racing to the Moon: China's Lunar exploration program in competition with the United States

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A new Cold War-style race to the moon seems to be in the making. The People’s Republic of China and the United States are both investing in moon exploration with manned lunar scientific stations as the ultimate goal. 

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Concept of a futuristic 3d illustration of a China base in the Moon dark side. The chinese letters means Chinese dragon, a non real name for the lunar mission in the concept.
Concept of a futuristic 3d illustration of a China base in the Moon dark side. The chinese letters means Chinese dragon, a non real name for the lunar mission in the concept.
© Marcos__Silva / Shutterstock
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The comparison with the 1960s has its limits, nonetheless, because this time the race is not only to touch down the moon’s surface and return to Earth, but to promote a long-term scientific development on the moon and far beyond.

This ReConnect China Policy Brief breaks down the state of play of the China-US race to the moon, and considers the strategic ambitions, technical requirements, and necessary diplomatic support for such a great aim.

 

ReConnect China is a research project dedicated to strengthening independent knowledge on China in Europe. Funded as part of the European Commission’s Horizon Europe program, the four-year project brings together 15 institutions and 66 researchers across 12 European countries. Ifri will contribute policy briefs such as this one throughout the lifespan of the project, ranging from science and technology to China’s economy to foreign policy and China’s place in international affairs.   

 

Download the ReConnect China Policy Brief via the project’s website:
Racing to the Moon: China’s Lunar exploration program in competition with the United States

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Author(s)
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Marc JULIENNE

Marc JULIENNE

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Director, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri

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Paul WOHRER

Paul WOHRER

Intitulé du poste
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Russian spaceship in orbit of planet Earth, View from the ISS station
Space Program
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Space has become a crucial theme in the main international think tanks’ research activities as it entails important strategic, economic, and technological issues.

Since 2001, Ifri has integrated space in its research, notably by ensuring that the political dimension of scientific and human exploration programs is emphasized, and by supporting reflections on the Code of Conduct for Outter Space Activities.

Today, as part of its research agenda, Ifri mobilizes several of its centers and programs to transversally tackle the theme of space, through three main inputs:

  • the competition of powers, driven by the Sino-American rivalry;
  • critical points related to mastery of space, such as the issue of autonomous access to space or the mega-constellations necessary for the digital revolution;
  • these developments’ challenges for Europe and its status as a space power.

Since the Summer 2020, Ifri has been coordinating a tripartite European Space Governance Initiative, together with two other renowned European think tanks: the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (DGAP) in Germany and the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in Italy.

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Asia Map
Center for Asian Studies
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Asia is a nerve center for multiple global economic, political and security challenges. The Center for Asian Studies provides documented expertise and a platform for discussion on Asian issues to accompany decision makers and explain and contextualize developments in the region for the sake of a larger public dialogue.

The Center's research is organized along two major axes: relations between Asia's major powers and the rest of the world; and internal economic and social dynamics of Asian countries. The Center's research focuses primarily on China, Japan, India, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, but also covers Southeast Asia, the Korean peninsula and the Pacific Islands. 

The Centre for Asian Studies maintains close institutional links with counterpart research institutes in Europe and Asia, and its researchers regularly carry out fieldwork in the region.

The Center organizes closed-door roundtables, expert-level seminars and a number of public events, including an Annual Conference, that welcome experts from Asia, Europe and the United States. The work of Center’s researchers, as well as that of their partners, is regularly published in the Center’s electronic journal Asie.Visions.

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Authentic Modern High Tech Robot Weapon
Center for Geopolitics of Technology
Accroche centre

Artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, cybersecurity, robotics, semiconductors, space... Technology, especially in the digital domain, is now deeply affecting all human activities and, by extension, international relations. The resulting political, strategic, economic and social issues manifest themselves at multiple political scales involving states, international organizations and private companies. The dynamics of international competition and cooperation are transformed.

It is to respond to these challenges that Ifri is launching the Geopolitics of Technology program in the fall of 2020, which builds on the work it already carried out on these subjects for several years.

The program takes a resolutely European approach to international issues related to so-called critical technologies. Its work is organized around four cross-cutting themes:

  • Power: redistributions of power caused by new technologies, in particular digital; military and dual innovations; transformations of international competition;
  • Sovereignty: definition of critical infrastructures and technologies; industrial and innovation policies in strategic sectors; opportunities and risks associated with international value chains;
  • Governance: ethical and legal issues; interactions between companies, states, international organizations and users; public-private partnerships and GovTech;
  • Society: political and social impacts of technological innovations; risks and opportunities for the future of work, health, the fight against climate change; connectivity and economic development.
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The European space model, based on science, cooperation and trade, is now being undermined by changes in international relations and the economic upheavals brought about by New Space. In light of the war in Ukraine and American disengagement, Europe needs to rethink its strategy by adding a fourth pillar dedicated to defense, in order to strengthen its sovereignty and deter possible aggression against the continent.

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Sat-to-Cell is a new type of service that connects smartphones directly to satellites. It has recently enabled innovative applications such as emergency text messaging via satellite. The technology is developing rapidly, and many questions are now being raised about its potential impact.

Paul WOHRER Eric BOTTLAENDER
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Date de publication
04 April 2024
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Ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a devastating cyber attack targets Ukrainian army communications, exposing Western dependence and vulnerability to space technologies, and calling NATO's defensive posture into question.

Béatrice HAINAUT
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Date de publication
19 January 2024
Accroche

In only three decades, China has become one of the world’s top space powers. At the turn of the 2020s, almost suddenly, China became the main challenger to the US, although with a significant remaining gap to bridge.

Page image credits
Concept of a futuristic 3d illustration of a China base in the Moon dark side. The chinese letters means Chinese dragon, a non real name for the lunar mission in the concept.
© Marcos__Silva / Shutterstock

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