New School Politics

In a move that’s sure to annoy some in the White House, China and Russia strengthened their outer space cooperation today by announcing that they are preparing a joint mission to put a probe on Mars. The Chinese are providing the probe, named the “Phobos Explorer”, to collect samples of the red planet, while the Russians are building the spacecraft. The two countries have maintained ties throughout the years, beginning their relationship back in the 1950’s when the Soviets helped their Communist brethen establish the Chinese Space Program. While China’s space efforts are hindered by their lack of technological development, agreements such as this one will push its program forward.

However, perhaps the most interesting piece of the news to ponder is how America will react. While the joint launch is something the United States successfully completed a few years ago, NASA hasn’t had much to show for its space program since the Apollo missions. Is this the impetus for another race to space? Maybe not quite, but I’ll certainly bet that US officials are uneasy with the idea of their former enemy teaming up with their new enemy in an area such as space travel. But at least society will see some benefits with competition in space programs, versus something like, oh, say, nuclear armament.

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