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Japan aims to put a man on the moon ahead of China as it partners with US in ‘Apollo programme on steroids’
- Japan’s ambition to send its first astronaut to the moon in 2028 is seen as a move to prevent China from scoring a propaganda coup, analysts say
- While China has made good progress in its space projects, it is unlikely to put a man on the moon any time soon due to the mission’s complexity
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The announcement during a recent meeting between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that the first non-American to walk on the moon is set to be a Japanese signals that Tokyo aims to surpass China’s space ambition.
However, analysts warned that the plan could provoke Beijing into accelerating its lunar projects in a bid to claim a prestigious victory in space over its Asian rival.
Under the plans outlined by Biden and Kishida at the White House on April 10, Japan will work with the US to put an astronaut on the moon in 2028 and a second astronaut in 2032. Both countries are aiming to stick to that schedule to prevent Beijing from scoring a propaganda coup by landing a Chinese astronaut on the moon before 2028, according to analysts.
“Certainly, I expect Beijing to take this as a direct challenge,” said Lance Gatling, president of Nexial Research and an aerospace and defence analyst.
“For years, the Japanese and Chinese have headed opposing space cooperation organisations or networks that sought to corral Asian nations’ space aspirations and both use their accomplishments in space as propaganda,” Gatling told This Week in Asia.
“Chinese experience in manned space is still relatively recent, and it is difficult to say how advanced they are – but placing humans on the moon is a very hazardous undertaking,” he said.
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