Britain’s Tim Peake has urged the US and China to work together on future moon missions, warning it would be “foolish” to risk a dangerous new space race without international cooperation
British astronaut Tim Peake(Image: PA)
Britain’s own Tim Peake has called for the US and China to join forces on new lunar missions. He further warned it would be “foolish” to spark a dangerous new space race without global cooperation.
“Space is incredibly hard, a very hostile environment,” the retired British European Space Agency astronaut told Sky News. During the interview, which marked the 10th anniversary of his launch to the International Space Station (ISS), Peake opened up about a new era of hazardous lunar exploration without contingency plans for rescuing astronauts from other countries in an emergency.
He further stated: “It would be foolish to not have things like common docking systems so that we can help each other out if people got into trouble.”
NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, right, makes comments as the Astronaut candidate class of 2025(Image: Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
The 53-year-old space veteran continued: “That’s the whole spirit of exploration. Okay, we might be coming from different positions, but we’re also one species and there to cooperate and collaborate.”
Sean Duffy, the acting NASA chief, has vowed the US will build a sustainable presence on the moon before China, Sky News reported. Duffy said in a NASA video in September: “We’re going back to the moon – and this time when we plant our flag, we stay.
“Our mission is maintaining American dominance in space. China wants to get there, but we’re getting there first.
British astronaut Major Tim Peake appearing at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester in 2016(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“We will win the second space race.” Nevertheless, Peake reportedly said we should learn from the space station, where Russian and Western astronauts have worked together peacefully for 25 years, even when their countries disagreed.
He countered: “I think as we move forward again and are focusing on the moon as a goal, we should embody this spirit of collaboration.” NASA is reportedly preparing to launch four astronauts around the moon for the first time since 1972, using its new SLS mega-rocket as part of the Artemis programme.
Although a previous uncrewed test flight revealed problems with the crew capsule, NASA says these issues have been fixed.
Peake consequently acknowledged there are still risks, but believed the astronauts and experts are well-prepared.
Additionally, he European Space Agency has reportedly announced that a German astronaut will be the first European on a future Artemis moon mission.
Peake is hopeful that a British astronaut, such as Rosemary Coogan, will also get the chance to walk on the moon soon.
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