NASA Warns: We’re in a ‘Space Race’ with China – May Claim Lands on the Moon

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According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, it is entirely possible that China could block the most resource-rich areas of the lunar surface if they establish a presence first.

The US and China are in “a new space race,” former NASA astronaut and Florida senator Bill Nelson has said, warning that a Chinese victory could result in the country claiming vast tracts of land on the moon. .

It’s entirely possible, he said, that China could block the most resource-rich areas of the lunar surface if they establish a presence first, he told Politico on Sunday.

“And it is true that we had better be careful not to reach a region of the Moon under the guise of scientific research. And it is not out of the realm of possibility that they will say: ‘far from here, we are here, these lands are ours,'” said Bill Nelson.

He even cited China’s military expansion in the South China Sea as an example of what could happen on the Moon: “If you doubt it, look at what (the Chinese) did to the Spratly Islands.”

China’s growing space program succeeded in establishing a new space station earlier this year. At the same time, NASA is working on a series of “Artemis” missions to the moon. NASA completed the Artemis 1 mission in November, which involved flying an unmanned Orion spacecraft around the Moon, and is preparing for the Artemis 3 mission, which will return astronauts to Earth’s satellite by 2025.

China recently completed and sent a crew to its new space station, Tiangong, and plans three missions to the moon within the next decade as part of its Chang’e lunar program after discovering what it said was a new mineral that would could be used as an energy source.

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