SCIENCE -MOON RACE- SCHEMES : WORLD'S CELESTIAL

CHINA has set a goal of landing astronauts on the moon before 2030. In August, it conducted the first test on Earth of Lanyue, its lunar lander. It intends to use the vehicle for an Apollo-like mission.

NASA by contrast, has planned a more complex mission, Artemis III. It relies on Starship, a giant next-generation spacecraft built by SpaceX, to land two astronauts near the moon's south pole.

The agency said late in 2024 that it would achieve this feat by mid-2027.

But But SpaceX, Elon Musk's company, struggled in its Starship test campaign this past year, and doubts grew about the timeline. In November, NASA sought alternative proposals for Artemis III, and President Trump signs an executive order in December that set the a lunar landing in 2028 as the goal.

That date is ambitious, and two events in 2026 could set the stage for whether China gets astronauts to the moon before Americans return.

First, SpaceX plans to test the latest version of its Starship vehicle. If early, flights succeed and it is able to relaunch a vehicle that fully orbits the Earth, the company plans may be back on track, even if it cannot achieve a 2028 landing.

The second event involves Blue Origin, the spaceflight company owned Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder.

The company is planning a robotic lunar landing while a version off its Blue Moon vehicle in 2026.

If that mission is successful, NASA could confidently consider Blue Origin's alternative lander proposal, which is simpler and could potentially be ready sooner than Starship.

The World Students Society thanks Katrina Miller and Michael Roston.