After discovering a new lunar mineral that could be an energy source in the future, China is aiming to launch three unmanned missions to the moon
BEIJING, Sep. 12, 2022 (TBINN)
Space race between China and the United States is accelerating after Beijing’s National Space Administration got the go-ahead to launch three orbiters to the Moon over the next 10 years, it announced.
It came a day after China became the third country to discover a new Lunar mineral, which it called Changesite-(Y), according to Chinese state-controlled newspaper the Global Times.
China’s Chang’e-5 Mission retrieved samples from the Moon in 2020 and it has been described as a phosphate mineral in columnar crystal found in Lunar rock particles. The mineral contains Helium-3, which could be a future source of energy. The discovery may put more pressure on the U.S. to ramp up its efforts after its Artemis I Moon mission was postponed for a second time.
Notably, Moon mining could be the next source of tension between the countries as N.A.S.A. is also probing the Moon’s South Pole where China plans to build a research station in conjunction with Russia.
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