NASA chief warns that China wants to mark territory on the moon | Technology

China may have ambitions to claim areas on the moon for mining and exclude the United States. The boss of the American space agency NASA warns about this in an interview with Policy.

According to Bill Nelson, China and the United States are in a race to see who can put people back on the moon first. This battle will be decided within the next two years.

“It’s a fact: we’re in a space race,” said the former senator and astronaut from Florida. “And we have to be careful that they (China, editor’s note) don’t set foot on the Moon under the guise of scientific research. Because they may say: ‘Stay out, this is our territory. .'”

China’s space program is advancing rapidly. In November, China opened its own space station. China has also landed on the moon several times and sent a robotic spacecraft with a camera to Mars. Beijing wants to send taikonauts (Chinese astronauts) to the Moon by the end of this decade.

The United States wants to put humans back on the moon by the end of 2025, for the first time since 1972. But any delay in developing new technologies could mean China is sooner.

NASA chief Nelson is optimistic that a manned mission will be able to fly around the moon by 2024. A year later, Americans are due to set foot on the lunar surface. But there is no guarantee that the United States will be first. “China has had tremendous success and progress over the past decade. Their moon landing date is also moving forward.”