When NASA administrator Jared Isaacman unveiled the crew of the Artemis III mission at Johnson Space Center in Houston earlier this month, he was ebullient.

We wish you godspeed on the journey ahead. You carry the fire of exploration from generations past, the confidence of this agency, and the support of this nation, and the dreams of millions who will be cheering you on.

The all-male crew – Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and US astronauts Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio and Randy Bresnik – will launch into lower Earth orbit next year for a two-week mission to test lunar landers. This will build on the work of the Artemis II astronauts and the Artemis IV mission planned for 2028, which will see humans return to the Moon's surface for the first time in 56 years.

Amid all of these headlines out of the US, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact it isn't the only major actor in space. While the US might be leading the current space race, other countries are close behind.

China

In May, China successfully launched three taikonauts to its Tiangong space station. One of the taikonauts will remain on the station for a year to "explore human adaptability and performance limits", according to Chinese state media.

(The term taikonaut, coined in 1998 but slow to catch on until recently, combines the Chinese word for outer space, tàik?ng, ??), with the Greek-derived suffix –naut, meaning "sailor," to mirror astronaut and cosmonaut.)

The space station stay will serve as a precursor to China's plan to send a crewed mission to the Moon before the end of this decade, and establish a permanent lunar base by 2035.