NASA Chief believes China may claim territory on the moon if it beats the US in the ongoing race to the lunar surface. Read to know more.
Chinese territory on the moon?
In an interview with Politico, Bill Nelson, the head of NASA called China’s military expansion in the South China Sea an indicator of what’s to come in the future. “It is a fact: we’re in a space race. And it is true that we better watch out that they don’t get to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research,” stated Nelson. “And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that they say, ‘Keep out, we’re here, this is our territory.’ If you doubt that, look at what they did with the Spratly Islands,” he added.
Recent aerial photographs reveal new military installations in the disputed archipelago of Spratly Islands. Hence, there could be a day in the near future when China claims territory on the moon.
In November, NASA completed its Artemis 1 mission. The mission involved flying an unmanned spacecraft around the Moon. Using this experience, NASA’s Artemis 3 mission aims to land astronauts on the moon by 2025.
More on China’s recent advances
However, China recently completed its’s new “Taingong” space station and launched a crew toward it. In the next decade, China is planning to launch three missions to the lunar surface. They are a part of the Chang’e lunar program. It also revealed success in discovering a lunar mineral with the potential of being used as an energy source. As per Nelson, China is enjoying “enormous success and advances” with its space program. NASA is currently working along with SpaceX for its Artemis 3 mission. “I ask the question every day. ‘How is SpaceX’s progress?’ And all of our managers are telling me they are meeting all of their milestones,” stated Nelson.
