From the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA’s Artemis II lunar flyby mission, which includes an Orion crewed Space Launch System rocket, will launch. Photo credit: Reuters
The irony lies in the April 2 launch of NASA’s Artemis II. The United States, both openly and in internal reports, has framed the Artemis program to return American astronauts to the moon as part of a race against China. But as China in Space editor Jack Congram pointed out, China does not believe it is racing the US to the moon.
Also read: The best of the launch of NASA Artemis II
Instead, it developed its program to send Chinese astronauts (taikonauts) to the moon as part of a national program with ties to local industry and development goals. The Chinese government is therefore determined to fund the program and provide it with political support, which will allow it to proceed at a steady pace – which is obviously unsettling to the US.
Under pressure, at least in its public reporting, NASA has responded by describing its priorities and urgency regarding the race with the China National Space Administration (CNSA), with the US state providing wavering support for those priorities: bowing one way because of cost, then the other because “beating” China offers the prospect of projecting US supremacy in at least one domain of high-tech semiconductor manufacturing.
Editorial | At the launch of Artemis II
the irony? As Mr Congram put it, the Liberal Democrats “see the moon as a testing ground in a geopolitical contest” with commercial connotations, while the party-state “sees it as an extension of long-term science-based development”. Perhaps this is not ironic at all given the success of China’s state-led techno-nationalist development over the past half century, or perhaps CNSA’s apparent indifference to NASA’s efforts is rooted in the secure knowledge that it is, in fact, ahead. Either way, China is giving the US more than a run for its money.
Chinese pressure
And if Chinese pressure is removed, the US may lose the only reason it is in such a hurry to return American astronauts to the moon. Politicians, policy makers and scholars have mentioned research and exploration, but they do not seem to be the driving force. In fact, as astrophysicist Erika Nesvold noted, neither the US government nor NASA have formally articulated what was so inappropriate about allowing Chinese astronauts to go to the moon in the first place (a stand reminiscent of US President Donald Trump’s speech on the same day, April 2, about why he went to war against Iran.)
This extended preamble may be essential to understanding NASA’s Artemis program, as generally the sights and sounds of any sufficiently “big” space mission can spark enough awe and wonder to blow away skeptical thoughts. The spectacle alone might seem reason enough to do so.
When the 98-meter-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket lifted off early on April 2 with the Orion capsule and its crew of four astronauts, there was jubilation on earth and around the world. These machines were the products of a sophisticated engineering effort. The rocket’s core stage was powered by four RS-25 engines and two five-piece boosters, which together produced more lift than the workhorse of the Apollo missions.
This configuration was required to support the Orion crew cabin, which was integrated with the European Service Module to provide propulsion and life support systems. The Orion is slightly larger than the Maruti Suzuki Swift, weighs 11 tons (26 tons including the service module), can sustain a crew of four for 21 days, includes an advanced abort system for crew safety, and uses modern avionics and a touchscreen interface instead of the mostly analog controls of earlier spacecraft. The capsule’s 5-meter-wide heat shield is also the largest of its kind.
There is a tendency in all of us to equate one country’s achievements in space years as an indicator of what humans as a species are capable of. Space is tough, and astronauts who ‘survive’ it are (technically) proof that we can all survive it. But as justified as this tendency is, and fitting for the gratifying romanticism, it must be remembered that, at least for now, the Artemis program is a misrepresentation of human aspirations for space.
Published – 05 April 2026 02:00 IST
