China is on a mission to seize control of the Moon to get one over other nations, experts have warned.
They believe the secretive country wants to have a lunar base to exploit its rich resources as part of a new star wars campaign.
It comes after its Tianwen-1 spacecraft entered Mars’s orbit last week.
The Chinese probe will spend three months mapping the planet before landing on the surface in May.
Tianwen-1 will look for signs of ice which future human life could use as water.
Leonard David, author of Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet, said: “China is on a long march to establish itself as a vibrant spacefaring nation.
“They will soon begin building their own space station in Earth’s orbit [and] they are pressing forward on an agenda of lunar exploration – one that will eventually lead to China placing home-grown boots on the Moon.”
It comes after US military chiefs expressed concerns about China’s ambitions.
Lloyd Austin, Joe Biden’s new defence secretary, urged the US to adopt a “laserlike focus” on keeping its military edge over Beijing including building “space-based platforms”.
David added: “We are seeing the high ground of military strategy move from ocean, land, and air-fighting capability into space – and even out to the Moon.”
Meanwhile, Nasa’s Perseverance vehicle will enter Mars’s orbit and land on the Red Planet on Thursday.
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Last week the Hope probe, built by the oil-rich United Arab Emirates went into Mars’s orbit.
But astronomers have played down the idea of a new space race.
Professor Andrew Coates, from University College London, said there was a great deal of teamwork between the US, Chinese and UAE teams involved in their missions through the Mars Exploration Programme Advisory Group.
He said: “[It’s there to] make sure we’re looking at slightly different, complementary things.
“To have missions launching to Mars during a pandemic – I think there’s something really inspirational about that. We’re going to try and answer bigger questions for humanity.”
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