50 years after moon landing, US sees new space rival in China

Washington sets lofty goal of man on Mars, but can it pull off another lunar landing first?

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin climbs down from the lunar module during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. © Reuters

TAISEI HOYAMA, Nikkei staff writer

July 20, 2019 15:26 JST

WASHINGTON -- As the U.S. marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing on Saturday, President Donald Trump seeks a repeat of America's win on the lunar surface -- this time against China.

The last time the U.S. competed in a space race was during the height of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union shocked the U.S. by launching the Sputnik satellite in 1957. President John F. Kennedy made his famous pledge in front of Congress in 1961 to go to the moon by the end of the decade, a promise fulfilled by the Apollo 11 landing.