China, The Moon, and Policy

The Moment, Time

“The spacewalk — part of an ambitious manned space program that includes construction of a space lab and will likely feature a lunar landing — was a reminder of the country’s growing national might. “There are problems, yes, but the message of this is that the [Communist] Party has the right control policy because of all it has done,” says Dean Cheng, China analyst with the CNA Corp., a U.S.-based think tank. Says Joan Johnson-Freese, a space expert at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.: “The Chinese have read the Apollo playbook. They understand everything the U.S. got from its lunar program.”

NASA at 50, editorial, Toledo Blade

“America has no choice but to find the will – and the money – to design and build the next generation of spaceships, and it must do so even as it solves the current financial mess, reinvigorates the economy, and defends against terrorism. Otherwise, space will become the province of nations that have the will, nations – like China – whose self interest may not coincide with ours.”