(ConservativeStar.com) – In recent years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has managed to put a spacecraft down on the dark side of the moon and parked a spacecraft in orbit around Mars. On March 10, it was announced that they joined Russia in an agreement to put a permanent base on and/or above the surface of the moon.
Russia and China say they will work together to build a Lunar Research Station.https://t.co/M42JNwOnfS
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) March 9, 2021
In this case of the students surpassing the teacher — early Chinese spaceflight piggybacked upon the then-Soviet Union technology — the PRC says the station will [eventually] be open to any nation wishing to conduct peaceful scientific missions. However, based on past actions of both nations in Earth’s orbit, it might be best to take that promise with a large grain of salt.
According to a CNBC article published on February 13, 2019, the United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) claimed the regimes are both engaged in the “weaponization of space” including laser weapons which would be a violation of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. Taking a position aligning with the adage “once bitten, twice shy” might be prudent in this situation.
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