"A Chinese space official has refuted a Western press report from 10 days ago that alleged that financial considerations had forced China to abandon plans to land astronauts on the Moon. That Reuters report from Beijing was widely circulated in the West as evidence that new NASA plans for American astronauts to fly back to the Moon would not be justified as part of some new Space Race, this time between the U.S. and China."
+ Read Article (MSNBC)
Editor's Note: This is in the rumors category because I consider everything that Chinese officials say as rumor. (I'm also not a big fan of the self-serving Oberg.) The Chinese frequently contradict each other about the goals & timelines of their space program, as this story further evidences. Personally, I would never write anything off about the Chinese going back to the Moon and onto Mars, nor would I write off Russia, Japan, India, Brazil, or Europe. This is a new century with many nations full of dreams for the future, and if America is not able to maintain the current momentum of exploring the solar system, others will surely claim the lead.
Posted by jburk at June 1, 2026 07:02 AM | TrackBackGood article. It also just so happens that the DOD has just released its report on PRC military power, with some references to the Chinese space program of course. It's downloadable here: http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/d20040528PRC.pdf
As for Oberg, I don't know that I would call him "self serving". He is very knowledgeable about space related issues and he markets that knowledge. I'd do the same were I in a position to. I just finished his book "Star Crossed Orbits" and it is a great read, I recommend to all who have an interest in the future of US manned spaceflight.
Posted by: Dogsbd at June 1, 2026 08:33 AM