FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

---

How Soon Will Humans Be Back on the Moon? U.S. Official Says China Will Be First

Dec. 17, 2018 (EIRNS)—Undersecretary of Defense for Science and Technology Michael Griffin, a former NASA Administrator, is quoted forecasting that China has the ability to be first to restore the human presence on the Moon, in the website Ars Technica.

The Dec. 10 article, “Here’s Why China’s Launch to the Moon’s Far Side Is a Big Deal,” briefly covers the implications for space technology and science of the first landing on the far side when China’s Chang’e-4 comes down softly in early January. These aspects were discussed in depth on LaRouchePAC’s “Fireside Chat” by science team member Megan Beets on Dec. 13.

Griffin, according to Ars Technica, said at a recent National Space Council Users Advisory Group meeting, that China could “pretty easily” land taikonauts on the Moon within six to eight years with its Long March 5 rocket if its space leadership made such a decision. This, in Griffin’s view, would anticipate America’s return to the Moon with its increasingly commercial company-oriented approach.

“They [China] never seem to be in a rush. They seem to be playing the long game,” Griffin is quoted. “I’m not saying they will be on the Moon in six to eight years, but if they wanted to be, they could.”