It’s unclear how China will use the win that would come from a successful Chang’e 7 mission, namely the visuals from its vehicles traversing the Moon’s South Pole. It has several options, one of the most intriguing being to claim that the territory explored by its rovers—establishing a keep-out zone for NASA.
That would be a clear provocation, but it could also further galvanize efforts in the United States to invest in Artemis and take the hard steps to accelerate its rollout. It would give Isaacman even more capital in his efforts to reform NASA.
One also suspects it may prompt people who do not view China’s efforts to “beat” NASA back to the Moon as a big deal to reconsider their position.
I don’t think it’s that people aren’t paying attention, I think it’s that information seems to be largely unavailable. Either due to journalists not reporting, or China not sharing. To be honest, I’m not sure which. I’ve heard almost nothing about their space station or really anything about most of their missions. I find it hard to believe it’s just due to a language barrier or Americans’ disinterest.
Also, I’m still annoyed at how the ISS shit with China played out. Sure, they’ve done lots of scientific and economic espionage, but the ISS is (or should be) public work for all. It’s unfortunate that space exploration is fragmenting over politics.
Jack Congram’s Substack has a nice section with regular updates on what the Taikonauts are up to aboard Tiangong.