What Are China's Military Ambitions In Space?

Information about China's Chang'e-3 lunar probe displayed on a screen at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, December 14, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer

R. Lincoln Hines, Business Insider/World Politics Review: China has big plans in space, but they're not about gaining military might

* China launched a spacecraft in late July that, if all goes to plan, should arrive at Mars in February 2021.
* While analysts often focus on the security motives driving China's pursuit of achievements in space, its mission to Mars highlights the role of prestige in Chinese foreign policy, writes R. Lincoln Hines, a WSD-Handa nonresident fellow at the Pacific Forum.

On July 23, the Tianwen-1 spacecraft lifted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island, in southern China, bound for Mars.

If all goes according to plan, the probe is scheduled to reach the red planet in February 2021. That would make China just the third country in history to land on Mars, after the United States and the Soviet Union.

While Tianwen-1 is focused on scientific exploration, the decision for any country to invest in such an ambitious endeavor is always deeply political. And while analysts often emphasize the security motives driving China's pursuit of advanced space technologies, its mission to Mars highlights the importance of international prestige in Chinese foreign policy.

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WNU Editor: My Chinese friends and contacts told me years ago that China's military ambitions in space is to dominate it. The civilian aspect of the program is an after-thought, and good propaganda.