In a recent interview with Politico magazine, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson spoke about the ongoing “space race” between the United States and China. While he acknowledged China’s impressive achievements in space exploration, he expressed concerns about the potential geopolitical crisis that could arise if China were to land on the Moon. According to Nelson, China could potentially override the laws of the 1970s and claim sovereignty over certain parts of the Moon, or make use of the lunar resources in a way that would leave the United States without access.
The Moon is not a hospitable place like Earth, and resources such as water are scarce. Nelson fears that a Chinese presence on the Moon could lead to overuse of these resources, potentially leaving the United States in a vulnerable position. In order to prevent this, he has called for support from American politicians in the Artemis 1 mission, which aims to return humans to the Moon by 2025.
China, on the other hand, is developing its own ambitious space program and does not plan to land on the Moon until 2030. The Chinese ambassador to Washington has said that these concerns are unfounded and that China will only use the Moon for scientific purposes, in accordance with space treaties.
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