Race for supremacy in space Will humans be back on the moon for the first time next year?

A new race to the moon has been underway between space-faring nations for years. Now a milestone could become a reality. The search for a great place for lunar stations also continues.

DPA

02.12.2025, 22:54

dpa

No human has visited the moon for more than half a century. This is set to change next year. If all goes well, four Americans will fly to the moon - before the Chinese succeed.

Strategically, the return to the moon symbolizes technological and geopolitical leadership in the space race. A permanent presence there is seen as a way of securing national interests in space travel and shaping international cooperation.

Many countries - and increasingly also private companies - have big plans for space. An overview:

First US President Donald Trump nominated billionaire and space tourist Jared Isaacman as the new head of the space agency NASA, then he withdrew the nomination, then he nominated him again. The episode seems exemplary for the current US space plans: a lot of back and forth, many delays, little clarity.

The basic plan at least remains: US-Americans are to return to the moon with the "Artemis" program. In the first half of 2026, three men and one woman are to orbit the moon on the ten-day "Artemis 2" mission.

In 2027, astronauts will then land on the moon again after more than half a century on "Artemis 3", including a woman and a non-white person for the first time. The last person on the moon to date was there in December 1972, during NASA's Apollo 17 mission. In the longer term, the "Gateway" station is to be built on the moon.

In the USA, private providers are increasingly getting involved: The "Starship" from Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX, the largest and most powerful rocket system in the history of space travel to date, has already completed numerous test flights. The "New Glenn" rocket from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin has also been able to catch up. Boeing's "Starliner" remains plagued by crises.

The People's Republic is pushing ahead with an ambitious space program in the race against the USA for technically demanding missions. The stated goal is to launch a manned mission to the moon by 2030. The country is keeping a lid on the exact timetable.

The "Chang'e 7" mission is scheduled to land another probe on the moon in 2026. In 2024, the much-acclaimed "Chang'e 6" mission brought rock samples from the hard-to-reach far side of the Earth's satellite back to Earth for the first time. "Chang'e 7" will use a rover to search for water ice at the moon's south pole, which researchers suspect is there. This will help in the selection of a suitable site for the construction of a lunar base.

The Chinese are gaining experience in manned space travel with the operation of the "Tiangong" ("Heavenly Palace") space station, to which astronauts fly every six months. One astronaut from the "Shenzhou 22" mission is to complete a long-term stay of one year.

The maiden flight of "Mengzhou 1", a new generation of spacecraft, to the station is also planned. It is currently being supplied by Tianzhou cargo spaceships, with astronauts being brought there by Shenzhou spaceships.

The space-faring nation still has a joint project with the USA: the operation of the International Space Station (ISS), which has long since become outdated. Increasing economic problems in the wake of the costly war of aggression against Ukraine are having an impact on other plans in space. Western sanctions are making technical goods imported from abroad more expensive, for example.

Despite the difficulties, the space agency Roskosmos is planning to spend billions and wants to attract much more private investors than in the past. For example, there are plans to set up a satellite internet service based on the US model Starlink, which, according to Roskosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov, is due to launch in 2027. Russia would have to launch hundreds of satellites into space by then. Work on the first Russian reusable "corona" rocket is also set to begin in 2026.

However, experts expect the projects to be delayed due to logistical and financial problems. The "Luna-26" moon mission has already been postponed to 2028. Russia still has the long-term goal of putting people on the moon and setting up a station there.

Europe is pursuing the goal of becoming more technologically independent. The European Space Agency Esa has just been pleased to announce a record budget of almost 22.1 billion euros for the period 2026 to 2028. In view of uncertain cooperation with the USA, for example, one focus will be on independent access to space.

Following the successful maiden flight in 2025, the Ariane 6 launcher, for example, is to take ESA missions into space next year. The space telescope "Plato" (Planetary Transits and Oscillations of Stars), which is to search for Earth-like exoplanets from a point around 1.5 million kilometers away, is also to be launched with an Ariane 6 at the end of 2026. The "Argonaut" project is also to be driven forward: the unmanned lunar lander is to serve as an independent European transport platform.

The "Hera" project, Europe's first planetary defense mission, is approaching a decisive phase: the space probe is expected to arrive at the asteroid at the end of 2026 and carry out measurements.

The Esa project to send a German astronaut to the moon with the US lunar mission "Artemis 4" is still a long way off and subject to many uncertainties. According to current agreements, this person will not be going to the moon anyway, and the "Artemis 2" and "Artemis 3" missions must first be successfully completed.

For a long time, India's main focus was on being able to launch satellites into space at low cost. The country is now pursuing more ambitious goals. Preparations and tests are currently underway for the country's first manned mission. The flight of the "Gaganyaan" space capsule with up to three astronauts in Earth orbit is planned for the first quarter of 2027.

In the same year, the "Chandrayaan-4" probe is also expected to land on the moon and bring back material samples. The long-term goal is to put Indian astronauts on the moon, if possible by 2040. Five years before that, the Indian space station "Bharatiya Antriksh Station" is to be put into operation. Probes are also to be launched to Venus and Mars as part of exploration programs.

Japan also wants to explore where important water can be found on the moon. To this end, the "Lupex" (Lunar Polar Exploration) mission to research water resources in the South Pole region is being pursued together with India. Japan is responsible for the lunar rover with instruments from NASA and Esa, India for the lunar module.

The data is to be used for the "Artemis" program. Like Esa, Japan is striving to be allowed to take its own astronauts to the moon in return. The "Lupex" launch is currently scheduled for the 2026/27 fiscal year (March 31).