Race to the Moon takes a new turn: China’s setback reignites competition with US to conquer South Pole

Much has changed since the Sputnik launched the space race between the Soviets and the Americans, but this generation is witnessing a new one, as thrilling as the era of Yuri Gagarin and Neil Armstrong. In this case, China and the United States are racing to set foot on lunar gray dust before 2030. And although humans are already heading back to the Moon, as we saw with NASA’s successful Artemis 2 mission, the most important flag in this phase will be the one planted by robotic probes at the lunar south pole, where the real prize lies: frozen water. But after a decade of sticking to their plans, the Chinese had to postpone the Chang’e 7 launch on Sunday, a seemingly simple delay that could flip the balance of the race.

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