Leroy Chiao, PhD, serves as a consultant and holds the role of CEO and co-founder at One Orbit LLC, a company focused on motivational training, education, and talent management. He brings extensive experience, having served as a NASA astronaut from 1990 to 2005. Chiao participated in four space missions on three Space Shuttles and acted as the copilot of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, commanding Expedition 10 at the International Space Station. The opinions expressed in this commentary are exclusively his own.
Civil space programs are established and maintained by nations for various reasons. Some aim to advance their scientific and technological endeavors, while others seek to expand their technical workforce or inspire the upcoming generation of professionals.
Nonetheless, the overarching driver since the inception of the space race has been enhancing national prestige, both domestically and on the global stage.
India’s recent achievement is a testament to this motivation. On Wednesday, India became only the fourth nation to successfully soft-land a probe on the Moon. This accomplishment marks a significant milestone for India’s burgeoning space program, which has shown consistent progress over time. With sustained investments in space exploration, India’s trajectory toward further accomplishments seems promising.
The roots of this aspiration trace back to the early days of the space era when the Soviet Union, recognizing the potential of a successful space program to elevate its national standing, launched Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, in 1957. Despite transmitting a simple beep, the implications were monumental: the Soviet Union now possessed the capability to strike adversaries with nuclear missiles, including the United States. This was followed by other milestones, such as sending the first living being (Laika the dog) and the first human (Yuri Gagarin) into space.
As Russia continued to make strides in space exploration, the United States was spurred into action. While the U.S. made its own accomplishments, the perception was that it was lagging behind technologically. This backdrop set the stage for President John F. Kennedy’s resounding call to land American astronauts on the Moon, rallying broad support across political lines and within the nation.
The space race took on the semblance of a survival struggle, one the U.S. could not afford to lose.
Russian President Vladimir Putin follows a lineage of leaders employing space successes to amplify their nation’s stature. Putin’s aim was to bask in the glory of the Russian Luna-25 moon lander’s successful landing. In a bid for national prestige, Putin timed this mission shortly before India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was set to reach the Moon. Despite Russia’s victory in the timing, Luna-25 encountered a malfunction and crashed rather than softly landing on the lunar surface. A triumphant landing would have been portrayed as evidence of Russia’s resilience, a counterpoint to its setbacks in Ukraine.
The mirroring of national greatness through space programs prompts closer scrutiny. Prominent in this landscape are Asian programs, particularly China and India. These countries have developed sophisticated technologies, including cryogenic rocket engines, launch vehicles, and spacecraft. They operate diverse satellite constellations for communication, Earth imaging, and remote sensing, with China boasting its navigation satellite system.
China’s human spaceflight program encompasses an operational space station, equipped with crew and cargo transport capabilities. India’s plans include sending astronauts into orbit in the near future, while China envisions lunar surface missions in the 2030s.
China’s lunar rover continues active exploration on the far side of the Moon, a unique accomplishment thus far.
In the International Space Station (ISS) partnership, the US, Europe, Japan, and Canada are actively pursuing space exploration. After delays and budget overruns, the Artemis I mission finally launched last year, and NASA has identified the Artemis II crew, featuring a Canadian astronaut. NASA’s ambitions include returning humans to the Moon, marking a significant milestone since the last Apollo landing in 1972.