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Chinese team flags life-threatening ‘glaring weakness’ in Nasa’s Artemis programme
🇨🇳 China /Technology

Chinese team flags life-threatening ‘glaring weakness’ in Nasa’s Artemis programme

From South China Morning Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Documents & data Context piece
  • A Chinese research paper identifies a critical flaw in NASA's Artemis moon program's reliance on a single main engine.
  • The paper argues this design presents a life-threatening risk, as there is no backup if the engine fails.
  • This highlights contrasting approaches between China and the U.S. in lunar mission safety and human life value.

A Chinese research paper has pinpointed a potentially life-threatening weakness in NASA's Artemis program, questioning the American space agency's reliance on a single main engine for critical lunar mission phases.

The study, published in the journal Chinese Space Science and Technology, argues that the design of spacecraft like the Orion, intended for the Artemis missions, contains "glaring weaknesses." This vulnerability lies in the absence of a backup system for the main engine, which is responsible for both descending to the lunar surface and ascending back to orbit.

contains some glaring weaknesses

— Chinese Space Science and TechnologyQuoted from a peer-reviewed paper published in the journal Chinese Space Science and Technology, identifying a weakness in NASA's Artemis program.

"If that one engine fails, there is no backup," the paper states, directly challenging the safety architecture of the U.S. program. This approach stands in contrast to potential designs being developed by China, suggesting a fundamental difference in how the two nations prioritize human life in their race to the moon.

If that one engine fails, there is no backup.

— Chinese Space Science and TechnologyThe paper highlights the critical risk associated with the single-engine design in NASA's spacecraft.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by South China Morning Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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