Ideological differences leave China without a partnership in space – 11/01/2023 – Science

In Chinese mythology, it is common for human beings to go to heaven to explore the universe. The Chinese character “sky” (天) is based on the character “human being” (人). In a free interpretation, this means that the cosmos is that which is above or beyond human beings. The regime in Beijing uses these reasons to promote the idea that space should be free from political and ideological differences.

However, since the space race between the former Soviet Union and the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, it has been clear that space travel is always also a political event. At stake is a nation’s technological superiority, innovative capacity and economic power.

That China is part of the great space powers became clear once again last Thursday (26), when three “taikonauts” set off on the “divine ship” Shenzhou-17 towards the Chinese space station Tiangong (celestial palace). After ten minutes of flight and six and a half hours of docking maneuvers, they arrived safely at the “celestial palace”.

After the success of the predecessor projects, Tiangong 1 (2011 – 2017) and Tiangong 2 (2016 – 2019), China began in 2021 the construction of its own space station, composed of a core and two scientific modules, which was ready in November 2022. The site has the capacity for simultaneous docking of three spacecraft: a supply ship and two space capsules.

Small but exquisite

The Chinese “three-room apartment”, as the space station is being called by the country’s press, weighs 100 tons – much less than the International Space Station (ISS), with its 450 tons – and was designed to be used by 15 years at an altitude of 450 kilometers.

Recently, China announced plans to expand the station, increasing the number of attached modules to six. Before the launch of Shenzhou-17, the deputy director of the Chinese manned space program, Lin Xiqiang, also declared that the country is ready to take foreign travelers to Tiangong.

“We would like to invite all countries committed to the peaceful use of space to cooperate with us in joint missions to the Chinese space station,” Lin said.

The People’s Liberation Army oversees China’s space travel. The selection and training of future “taikonauts” also directly involves the military. Of the 18 Chinese “taikonauts”, only 2 are women and only 1 is a civilian — but this university professor also saluted in a gesture of respect for the military and the country.

Long list of successes

China’s list of successes and plans for space is long: landing a probe on the dark side of the Moon in 2019; landing a rover vehicle on the surface of Mars in 2021; installation of a third space telescope by 2024, which will be attached to the space station for refueling; and the first manned mission to the Moon by 2030.

In the race for space supremacy, the Chinese are hot on the heels of their American rivals at NASA. In addition to the Chinese space station, only the ISS has been operating with a permanent crew since 2000. Due to the refusal of the United States, China cannot participate in the international project.

Technically, the ISS can be operated until 2030. Then Tiangong could become humanity’s only outpost in orbit.

“China is already a great space power and dominates the entire spectrum of space disciplines”, assesses former German astronaut Thomas Reiter, from the European Space Agency (ESA). “This puts the country on par with other spacefaring nations such as the United States and Russia.”

Ideology in orbit

A new success in space is always a good opportunity for the Beijing government to ignite national pride and distract the population from problems such as the economy’s poor performance or high youth unemployment. The country and the world must be impressed by the ambitious program.

Outward-facing state broadcaster CCTV-4 broadcast the latest launch live. The intention was to mainly reach American viewers due to the rivalry between the two countries. The US prohibits, by law, NASA from cooperating with the Chinese space agency.

“In relation to space, China and the United States are not only competing for national prestige and global technological leadership, but also for geopolitical influence and military power,” says Johann C. Fuhrmann, director of the Beijing office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

China’s biggest opponent in Asia, India has also entered the space race. The country announced plans to build its own space station by 2035 and to land (with a manned mission) on the Moon by 2040.

Europe on the fence

In Europe, ESA early discovered the potential of China’s ambitious space program. Many astronauts from the European agency took intensive Chinese language courses. In 2017, German astronaut Mathias Maurer participated in deep sea survival training in China to prepare for an eventual landing in the ocean.

“I consider cooperation with China to be very important. The country will be one of the great space nations in the future, alongside the United States and Russia,” Maurer said at the time. He ended up, however, spending 176 days on the ISS between 2021 and 2022.

In January this year, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said that the European agency should focus, for the moment, on the ISS. “We have neither political nor budgetary green light to engage in a second space station, in other words, the Chinese space station,” he stressed.

Despite the statement, the Chinese space agency CNSA and ESA have ten joint projects. For Reiter, this collaboration is positive. “Space and science should help us keep communication channels open in situations like this. As soon as the dust settles, we should resume this dialogue with China and look for new projects”, highlights the astronaut.

Space travel is planned over the long term, starting many years before the mission is carried out. Therefore, Reiter would like ESA to already prepare the ground to send astronauts to Tiangong. “In orbit there is a large international group of researchers. If this international cooperation can be maintained, it should definitely have our support.”