For years, the US has prided itself on being one of the forefathers of modern space travel. As the first to land a man on the moon in 1969, the nation led the way in the great space race, and now a return to the moon is once again on the table.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson sat down for an interview with NPR’s Scott Detrow to discuss the prospect and how China plays a factor. Asking Nelson about the agenda behind his speeches and their frequent focus on China, as well as NASA’s monitoring of what this communist regime is doing.
Nelson responded, “First of all, I don’t give a lot of speeches about China, but people ask a lot of questions about China. And it’s important simply because, I know what China has done on the face of the Earth, for example, where the Spratly Islands, they suddenly take over a part of the South China Sea and say, “This is ours, you stay out.”
After a slight pause, he added, “I don’t want them to get to the South Pole, which is a limited area where we think the water is. It’s pockmarked with craters. And so there are limited areas that you can land on the South Pole. I don’t want them to get there and say, “This is ours. You stay out.” It ought to be for the international community, for scientific research. So that’s why I think it’s important for us to get there first.”
He’s not wrong about it being important for the US to be first.
Back in 2022, he pointed out that China is incredibly closed off and guarded when it comes to information. He said they have refused to share despite being given ample opportunities. Especially when they retrieved a new rock from the moon and refused to allow other nations access to it.
With China reportedly crewing up to head to the far side of the moon, Washington is more concerned than ever that they are trying to establish superiority in space. Previous rumblings indicate China and Russia may joining forces to build a nuclear power plant on the moon. While a far-off dream at this point for them, it could give them almost totalitarian rule if they did.
