Wait, is this…
Bill Blore
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) offered a CGI video For its vision of a lunar base, it is a highly ambitious plan that the country hopes to achieve within decades.
The flashy – if dated-looking – rendering shows plans for the International Lunar Research Station, a Chinese and Russian endeavor that was… It was first announced in 2021.
The video also raises eyebrows because of a strange appearance: a NASA space shuttle lifting off from a launch pad in the distance, as… spotted before Space.com website.
It's either next-level humor from China's space program or a funny oversight, since the shuttle has been retired for more than a decade — not to mention that China and NASA aren't even allowed to talk to each other, let alone cooperate.
As space reporter Jack Kohr later noted, China's state-run Global Television Network came up with an equally funny solution to mask the shuttle's takeoff in the background.
“Prosperity problem solved,” Kohr said chirp. “CGTN went ahead and placed a reliable fog bar over the shuttle.”
Challenging endeavor
NASA retired its spacecraft in 2011 and relied on Russian Soyuz capsules to staff the International Space Station until SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft came along.
For decades, the Space Shuttle has become an iconic symbol of space exploration — and possibly the most accessible 3D asset for a spacecraft ever launched to include in a Moonbase display. NASA's fleet of shuttles He flew a total of 135 missions Between 1981 and 2011.
It's a particularly ironic inclusion given the growing tensions between the US and China. Just last month, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson took aim at China, accusing its space program of hiding military experiments in Earth's orbit.
But failed promotional videos aside, China's space agency has faced significant headwinds in its space exploration efforts, from successfully landing a spacecraft on the far side of the moon to building an entire space station in just two years.
The Chinese space agency is currently developing new ways to build lunar habitats using bricks made from lunar soil, and is considering whether to set up shop inside ancient lunar lava tubes.
In short, its marketing department may not be exactly running on the cutting edge of technology, but if there's one country that has proven it can lead the charge in establishing a permanent presence on the moon, it's China.
More about the Chinese moon base: China announces plans to build a lunar base using lunar soil
