World Apr 26, 2026 · 1 min read

The tortoise and the hare: will China beat the US in the race back to the moon?

The rival superpowers are ramping up preparations for a crewed lunar landing nearly six decades after the first moon walkThe world watched earlier this month as Nasa sent four astronauts around the moon – but to actually land on the surface the US is once again in a space race, this time with China....

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The Guardian
by Oliver Holmes, and Alastair McCready in Taipei. Graphics by Paul Scruton
The tortoise and the hare: will China beat the US in the race back to the moon?

The rival superpowers are ramping up preparations for a crewed lunar landing nearly six decades after the first moon walk

The world watched earlier this month as Nasa sent four astronauts around the moon – but to actually land on the surface the US is once again in a space race, this time with China. And China may well win.

Both countries plan to build inhabited lunar bases – the first settlement on another celestial body – as well as searching for rare resources and using the deep space environment to test technology for future crewed missions to Mars.

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This article was originally published by The Guardian and written by Oliver Holmes, and Alastair McCready in Taipei. Graphics by Paul Scruton.

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