NASA warns of China territory in Moon

The United States space agency on Wednesday called for American vigilance on China’s space program as it warned that its military may take over the Moon if its taikonauts land there ahead of the Americans.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson told lawmakers on Capitol Hill during a 2025 budget hearing for the agency that the US should land on the Moon again before China does or else Beijing could say: ‘“Okay, this is our territory, you stay out.”’

The US is planning to put astronauts back on the Moon in 2026 with its Artemis 3 mission. China says it hopes to send humans to the moon by 2030.

Nelson said he was confident the US would not lose its “global edge” in space exploration.

“But you got to be realistic,” he added. “China has really thrown a lot of money at it and they’ve got a lot of room in their budget to grow.”

“I think that we just better not let down our guard,” Nelson said.