Space Security Index

Space Security 2011
86
2010 Development
Spacefaring states continue to pursue Moon exploration
In 2010, Chinese sources indicated that the country intends to continue pursuing the launch
of its own space station as a step to reaching the Moon. 81 e rst module of a three-stage
process to assemble an orbital lab is Tiangong 1, an 8.5-ton structure, whose construction, as
well as electronic, mechanical, and thermal testing, have reportedly already been completed.
It was scheduled to be launched into orbit in 2011. 82 e completed Chinese space station
will be a collection of modules that some sources say will be comparable to the Mir station,
which Russia took out of orbit in 1996. 83 On 1 October, China launched Chang’e-2 – a
mission to map potential landing sites on the Moon; 84 the mission’s success was announced
in early November. 85
The Russia-India Luna-Resource project includes sending a research lunar probe
(Chandrayaan-2) to the Moon’s surface to study polar areas and extract and return to Earth
samples of water and soil. 86 e launch from an Indian facility is scheduled for 2013. India
also announced plans to send humans into space by 2017. 87 e initial phase will cost
approximately US$2.8-billion 88 and start with a pre-project study, followed by testing of
the unmanned crew module and the launch of astronauts by a geostationary satellite launch
vehicle (GSLV). 89
Japan con rmed its interest in exploring the Moon and plans to develop a follow-on mission
to Hayabusa, an unmanned spacecraft that successfully collected samples from a near-Earth
asteroid and returned them to Earth on 13 June 2010. 90 It also intends to build on the
success of the Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE, also known as Kaguya), a
lunar orbiter spacecraft, with SELENE2, a robotic landing and exploration mission to the
Moon by 2015. 91 Japan also plans to build a robot space-base on the Moon by 2020 92 and
intends to do more research and development in relation to BepiColombo, a mission of the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and ESA to study the structure, exosphere, and
magnetosphere of Mercury. 93
Despite the cancellation of NASA’s Constellation program, the U.S. has not fully dismissed
the Moon as a space exploration goal. 94 On 30 September, NASA Deputy Administrator
Lori Garver stated that the Moon has a role to play in President Obama’s space exploration
plan, and that “lunar science and lunar exploration is alive and well in NASA,” 95 as evidenced
by the success of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which completed the mission
exploration phase on 16 September. 96
Figure 4.6: Human spaceflight missions 1961–2010