The European, Chinese and America efforts to Deepening Human Footprint in Outer Space

The European, Chinese and America efforts to Deepening Human Footprint in Outer Space

By E. Stanley Ukeni

In a promising move that would further cement the human footprint in the near-outer space, officials of the European Space Agency (ESA) and those of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) have initiated dialogue aimed at establishing modalities for a possible partnership in creating a lunar human outpost in the next ten years.

The initial public hint of this collaborative talk for a joint lunar base initiative was by the Secretary General of China’s Space Agency, Tian Yulong, on Chinese State media on Wednesday, April 26, 2017.

It should be noted that the Chinese space initiative has made tremendous advancement in the past two decade. In fact, CSNA has made quantum leaps in its space exploration capabilities in recent years—enough to get the attention of the European Space Agency.

CNSA and ESA has been engaged collaborative partnerships since 2003—after Yang Liwei’s successful manned mission to space. For instance, it was a joint effort by the two Space agencies that saw the launching of the Double Star Satellite in July of 2004—a scientific endeavor, described by the agencies as a project that’s aimed at ‘investigating global physical process in Earth’s magnetic environment and its response to solar disturbances’.

On Thursday, April 20, 2017, the Chinese Space Agency launched its first cargo spacecraft—a major step in the nation’s stated objective of establishing its own permanent manned space station in 2022.  The Tianzhou-1 cargo resupply spacecraft blasted-off early evening on a Long March-7 Y2 rocket from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in the southern island province of Hainan.

The Chinese President Xi Jinping has, in recent years, given increased priority to advancing the country’s space program as a means of strengthening its national security. The United States’ Defense Department has accused the Chinese government of pursing subversive space-based initiatives aimed at disrupting or destroying the space assets of other nations in the event of war—siting the Chinese successful testing and deployment of anti-satellite missiles as prove.  However, the Chinese insist that its space program is for peaceful purposes only.   

The spokesman for the European Space Agency, Pal Hvistendahl, further confirmed, on Wednesday, that the two agencies were indeed in talks for collaborative Space related projects.   

In a statement regarding the possible collaborative efforts being discussed, Hvistendahl stated that, “The Chinese have a very ambitious moon program in space… We recognize that to explore Space for peaceful purposes, we need international cooperation.

On his own part, the Director General of the twenty-two countries member ESA, Johann-Dietrich Woerner, dubbed the proposed lunar human outpost as “Moon Village”.  He suggested that the moon village could be a potential international launching station for future Martian human Space mission, and perhaps an infrastructure for future space tourism—or even commercial lunar mining.

One major spacefaring country that that will not be participating in the collaborative project is the United States—this is because U.S laws bars NASA from participating in any collaborative research initiatives relating to space with Chinese State institutions or employees.

This law, enshrined in a 2011 Congressional Act and signed into law by President Obama https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-112publ55/html/PLAW-112publ55.htm, states in principle, that NASA employees and contractors may not, “develop, design, plan, promulgate, implement, or execute a bilateral policy, order, or contract of any kind to participate, collaborate, or coordinate bilaterally in any way with China.”

The United States is engaged in its own independent lunar space colony initiative. President Donald Trump has recently tasked NASA to refocus efforts at sending humans to the moon within three years—as opposed to initially venturing deeper into outer space.

On Tuesday, March 21^st 2017, President Trump singed a new $19.5 billion NASA authorization bill—the first such funding authorization bill for the U.S. space agency in seven years. U.S. Vice President, Pence, said at the bill signing that he will be heading a re-instituted National Space Council—an advisory board that serves as an intermediary between NASA and the U.S. Executive Branch of government. 

I should add here that despite impressive technological advancements made by the Chinese in recent years, in its space program—in the areas of military, commercial and scientific innovation, the United States and Russia are still leaps ahead of the country. 

It’s not particularly interesting to that the Chinese Space Program have not attained parity with those of the Americans and the Russians. What’s important to me is that the world is taking progressive steps towards establishing a permanent human outpost in an alien world.

I feel confident that humanity will, within three decades, establish a thriving village outpost in a new earth—somewhere in outer-space. I boldly say this because I believe that this is the destiny of humankind. It is our collective birthright conquer this next frontier—our divine heritage, if you will.    

Authored by E. Stanley Ukeni, © 2017. All Rights Reserved. This material and other articles or stories posted on this blog site may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed, in whole or in part, without prior expressed written permission from the author, E. Stanley Ukeni.

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Photo Credits: NASA; ESA; CNSA