The Asian giant is counting on landing a human mission on the Red Planet: here's when. Colonizing Mars, Elon Musk's rival pops up: it's China.
China's eyes on Mars cross the ambitions of multibillionaire Elon Musk. It is no mystery, in fact, that the founder of the PayPal electronic payment system, through his company SpaceX, wants to bring the first men on the Red Planet. A goal that represents a necessary step towards a much more ambitious step: to colonize the planet closest to our mother Earth.
China's space plans to build colonies on Mars
The People's Republic wants to consecrate its status as a world power with the space race and is already helping to enrich our interplanetary imagination with a series of visual documents, such as the hilarious selfie of the Chinese rover on Mars. Bringing human settlements on the arid surface of the fourth planet from the Sun is of course another story. But China has already put in place a visionary plan to turn into reality the most daring flights of fancy of science fiction writers.
The declaration of intent comes from a source certainly authoritative. It is Wang Xiaojing. The president of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology said at a press conference that the nation is organizing for "sustainable human missions" to Mars. So what will be the next steps? First and foremost, a series of intermediate missions to generate oxygen and extract water from underground, prerequisites for the creation of a structure that could protect the lives of any astronauts.
Another "sine qua non" is the availability of "electric nuclear propulsion." This is a technology that still needs to be implemented, with a focus on its environmental impact. If China wants to use it, it will first have to solve the rebus associated with safe and sustainable use.
When is the Chinese mission to colonize the Red Planet planned
What time limit has China set for such an undertaking? Not much is known about it. A reference date can be 2030, when, in the intentions of the Asian giant, robotic missions should start. A credible estimate for the human ones is at a distance of ten years: will 2040 be the year of colonization of Mars? And of which country will be the flag planted on the arid, rocky and red soil for the first time by a human hand?
Giuseppe Giordano