NASA Expects Chinese Crewed Mission Around the Moon In 2027

Source: Slashdot

NASA Administrator’s Statement

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says he expects China to fly taikonauts around the moon in 2027, “ratcheting up perceptions of a space race between China and the United States,” reports SpaceNews. He is using that prospect to argue for a revamped Artemis strategy and an accelerated path toward a U.S. lunar return.

“The next time the world tunes in to watch astronauts fly around the moon, which will likely be sometime in 2027, they will be taikonauts, and America will no longer be the exclusive power to send humans into the lunar environment,” he said.

While Isaacman has frequently discussed a race with China to be the next to land humans on the moon, this was one of the first times he predicted a 2027 Chinese crewed circumlunar mission. He repeated the comments later in the day at an industry reception.

Chinese Mission Outlook

• China has not publicly announced plans for such a mission.
• Isaacman described the potential flight as likely similar to NASA’s Artemis 2 mission in April.
• Rumors suggest a roadmap of missions leading to a Chinese crewed landing by the end of the decade.

So far, all crewed missions to fly around, orbit, or land on the moon have been flown by NASA: nine Apollo missions (1968‑1972) and Artemis 2. All astronauts on those missions have been Americans, except for Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on Artemis 2.

Impact on Artemis Program

Isaacman has used the perceived threat that China could land astronauts on the moon before NASA returns there as a rationale for revamping the Artemis lunar exploration program.

• February: announced that Artemis 3, originally slated for a lunar landing in 2028, will instead be a test flight in low Earth orbit in 2027, with a landing shifted to Artemis 4 in 2028.
• March (Ignition event): altered other Artemis elements, effectively canceling the lunar Gateway to focus resources on a lunar base and calling for a much higher cadence of robotic lander missions.