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Elon Musk Claims China鈥檚 Space Program Is “Far More Advanced鈥�

In a tweet published on Monday 29th May, Tech Mogul and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk spoke highly of China鈥檚 space program. The tweet read, 鈥淭he China space program is far more advanced than most people realize.鈥�

The comment by the Twitter and SpaceX boss was a reply to a tweet from retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.  Hadfield had tweeted the words of the chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, Wu Weiren.

The tweet (reiterating Wu鈥檚 words) read, “By 2030, the Chinese people will definitely be able to set foot on the moon. That’s not a problem.”

Speaking at a conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Monday, Lin Xiqiang, the deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency, reaffirmed Wu鈥檚 words.

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She said that the country鈥檚 space authorities have launched a program that intends to send astronauts to the moon before 2030.

Lin claims that China will continue its astronomical exploration after completing and operating its space station.

“The overall goals are to realize China’s first manned landing on the moon before 2030, carry out scientific exploration and related technology demonstrations on the lunar surface, develop a commuting system and short-term stay system for crews, and develop human-robot integrated testing and other key technologies,” she said.

The Space Race: China Vs. USA

Man has been on a quest to conquer space and at the forefront of this is two nations, the USA and China.

Experts have time and time again pointed to China鈥檚 rapid advancements in space exploration leading to comparisons with America鈥檚 program.

Speaking to Nikkei last year, NASA鈥檚 Bill Nelson said, “I think we’re in a race with China.”

Nelson went ahead to highlight China鈥檚 secretive nature of their program as well as tout them as one of the countries not interested in partnering with the US in the 鈥榮pace race.鈥�

The term race could imply some level playing ground but this is not the case. The USA is far ahead of China as well as other competitors too. In 2022, the USA spent about $62 billion on space programs while China spent about $12 billion.

Currently, the USA operates roughly 63% of the satellites in orbit (over 3400) while China has only 541 satellites.

Last month, Elon Musk-run SpaceX launched one of the first test flights for its Starships. The launch is in preparation for the Artemis III mission which is supposed to bring astronauts back to the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century, officially in 2025.

While the test flight ended in an explosion, it was not an absolute failure as they were able to collect some much-needed information.

After the test, Elon Musk said, “Looks like we can be ready to launch again in 1 to 2 months.” However, he did not mention an exact date for the next test launch.