China’s lunar aspirations are no longer confined to sending scientific missions but are rapidly shaping into a strategic foothold, going by its recent bold statements.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has recently opened access to its precious Chang’e-5 moon rock samples to select foreign institutions, including two U.S. universities, even as it quietly lays the groundwork for a nuclear-powered lunar base next.
Two U.S. universities that receive NASA funding, Brown University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, are among the seven global institutions that have been allowed to borrow lunar samples from China.
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China’s scientific outreach stands in contrast to its previous plans for dominance beyond Earth’s orbit. Fresh from retrieving samples from the Moon’s far side through its Chang’e-6 mission, Beijing is now plotting the construction of a nuclear energy facility on the lunar surface by 2035 — a project it intends to execute jointly with Russia’s Roscosmos agency.
China’s controlled sharing of its moon samples — a diplomatic gesture extended to partners in Japan, France, Germany, the U.K., and Pakistan as well — appears geopolitically calculated. It not only projects confidence in its technological prowess but also subtly challenges U.S.-led space leadership, especially as Washington continues to enforce strict collaboration barriers under the 2011 Wolf Amendment.
“It seems the United States is quite closed off now despite being open in the past, while we were closed off in the past and are now open; this is because of the increase in our nation’s overall strength and consequent rise in self-confidence,” Wu Weiren, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday, adding that growing U.S. “isolationism” would not help its space ambitions.
While the Chang’e-4 and 6 missions earlier had four international payloads, the next Chang’e-7 mission scheduled for 2026 will have six international payloads and “cooperation with 10 countries” is being explored currently for the subsequent Chang’e-8 mission.
Ropes in Russia for nuclear plant on moon
China’s partnership with Russia to develop the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) is another strategic alignment in the backdrop of Western sanctions isolating Russia’s space sector. Offering Moscow a lifeline, Beijing seeks collaboration in its ambitious lunar infrastructure projects, including pipelines, solar arrays, and, above all, nuclear reactors, which are critical for a permanent presence on the moon.
As moon is a treasure trove of valuable resources such as non-radioactive helium-3, which is rare on Earth but available abundantly on the moon and could one day power nuclear fusion reactors. About 100 tons of He-3 has the potential to power the entire population of Earth for a year.
A preliminary estimate puts He-3 at being worth about $40,000 per ounce. When one ton of He-3 is burnt along with 0.67 ton of deuterium, about 1,000 MW of energy can be produced that can meet Earth’s power requirement throughout the year.
Pei Zhaoyu, chief engineer for the 2028 Chang’e-8 mission, confirmed that energy solutions for the ILRS could range from vast solar networks to nuclear systems — with the latter seemingly a favorable choice. Wu Weiren openly acknowledged Russia’s edge in nuclear space technology, suggesting renewed hope for a Sino-Russian breakthrough where past efforts had stalled.
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These two developments position China as a formidable player in the next great space race, with its “555 Project” blueprint aiming to enlist 50 countries, 500 research institutions, and 5,000 scientists into its orbit. All of this unfolds at a time when NASA targets a more accelerated return to the Moon under its Artemis program this year, potentially setting the stage for a new era of lunar competition.
By trading moon rocks today and sketching nuclear outposts for tomorrow, China is also sending a clear message: the future of the Moon may be decided not just by rockets and rovers, but by who controls the critical resources — and the alliances — that will power humanity’s next leap into mining the lunar surface.