NASA Administrator Suggests China Could ‘Steal’ the Moon

Bill Nelson, a NASA administrator, expressed concern about China’s space exploration efforts, particularly regarding the country’s plans for the Moon. According to him, the country can “take” our natural satellite as part of its military space program. Nelson’s speech comes from an interview with the German newspaper Bild, published this Saturday (2).

Over the past decade, China has accelerated the pace of its space program and devoted itself intensely to lunar exploration: in 2019, for example, the country made history with the landing of the mission Chang’e 4 on the other side of the Earth. Moon, and in December 2020, the Chang’e 5 mission brought lunar soil samples to Earth. Additionally, the country plans to launch a series of robotic missions to the lunar south pole later this decade.

For Nelson, these and other advances deserve attention. “We have to be very concerned about China landing on the moon and saying, ‘Now it’s up to us, you stay out,'” he said, referring to the country’s lunar schedule. , he claimed that the Chinese space program had stolen ideas and technologies from other countries.

“Well, what do you think is happening on the Chinese space station? They are learning how to destroy other people’s satellites,” he said, when asked about possible military objectives pursued by the Chinese in space. He added that a new space race is underway – and this time it includes China.

Responding to comments by NASA Administrator Zhao Lijian, spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, said the United States has consistently built a campaign against China’s “normal and reasonable” businesses in the world. ‘space. “China is firmly opposed to such irresponsible investments,” he told a conference.

Bill Nelson’s statements come at a time when much of the international attention is focused on the Moon: NASA has ambitious plans to bring in new astronauts and establish a lasting human presence on our natural satellite with the Artemis program – and of course China is not far behind: the country is partnering with Russia to build a research station on the Moon.

Source: Via: Bild, Al Jazeera