China announces plans to build a Moonbase in the next decade

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By Matthew Griffin Space 10th May 2019

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Space exploration and building colonies on Mars and the Moon are in vogue as countries and billionaires vie to out do one another.

Just like the European Space Agency, Jeff Bezos, who wants to also move heavy industry off Earth, and NASA, China has now announced plans to send a manned mission to the Moon and build a research station on the Moon’s surface within the next decade. The announcement was made by China National Space Administration head Zhang Kejian during speech marking “Space Day,” and comes shortly after the country’s announcement that it also wants to be first to build a space based solar power plant by 2025. And if they do accomplish this great feat then, thanks to Vodafone and Nokia, Kejian can rest assured that his astronauts will be able to get a full 4G cell service when they arrive.

Beijing last week also said it would launch an asteroid exploration mission, like the one recently conducted by Japan, and invited collaborators to place their experiments on the probe.

With every announcement China ratchets up its focus and spending on space exploration, to the point where, according to the OECD, the country now spends an estimated $8.4Billion on programs – more than Russia and Japan do and second only to the US.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.

An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.

As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.

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