Tuesday, October 8, 2024
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Leung Conference Room (110), 280 Brook Street
At this week’s China Chat we’ll be joined by Jim Head for a discussion of the role of national space programs and their significance in US-China relations.
National space programs have significant implications for national pride, prestige and foreign policy. China has embarked on an ambitious and fast-paced human and robotic Earth-orbital, lunar, and planetary exploration program, including an Earth-orbiting Space Station, the first sample return mission (Chang’e 6) from the far side of the Moon, a rover on Mars, and missions to many other Solar System destinations. Plans call for Chinese astronauts to explore the Moon by the end of this decade. What is the scope, organization, significance and direction of the Chinese and US space programs, is there a China-US Space Race, and if so, who is ahead?