Japan aims to put a man on the moon ahead of China as it partners with US in ‘Apollo programme on steroids’

However, analysts warned that the plan could provoke Beijing into accelerating its lunar projects in a bid to claim a prestigious victory in space over its Asian rival.

“Certainly, I expect Beijing to take this as a direct challenge,” said Lance Gatling, president of Nexial Research and an aerospace and defence analyst.

“Chinese experience in manned space is still relatively recent, and it is difficult to say how advanced they are – but placing humans on the moon is a very hazardous undertaking,” he said.

China has been stepping up its efforts to prepare for future lunar missions.

On Thursday, three astronauts lifted off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China and safely docked with the orbiting Tiangong space station. The astronauts are slated to spend six months aboard the space station, conducting experiments and making preparations ahead of a likely manned moon mission.

Hundreds of thousands of things must go right for any moon mission to be a success, Gatling said. In the event of a failure – particularly one that involved the loss of crew – it would be “a massive propaganda disaster”, he added.

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“But I expect the question to evolve into how the Chinese assess the risks, manage them and decide to proceed.”

The joint Japan-US plan is part of the Artemis lunar exploration programme, which involves several other nations and is designed to serve as a foundation for future space exploration.

Japan has agreed to develop and sustain the operations of a pressurised lunar rover. The US will tap its more extensive experience in manned space missions, provide flight opportunities and astronaut training and “manage the risks of these challenging and