NASA warns China is conducting military programs in space under the guise of ... trends now
NASA has warned that China could be preparing for a lunar takeover in the coming years, using its civilian space program as guise for military operations.
Bill Nelson, NASA administrator, fears the Asian nation's 'extraordinary strides' in the last decade are more than just for science, but to exert dominance over the moon.
China has launched a craft to the moon and brought samples back to Earth, has its own space station circling the planet and is eyeing 2030 for when it will send humans to the natural satellite.
While NASA is set to land humans on the lunar South Pole in 2026, Nelson has raised concerns that China has the capabilities to beat them there.
China launched its Shenzhou-16 flight (pictured) in May of last year, carrying a civilian astronaut on board the six-month mission
China plans to land humans on the moon in 2030 and wants to establish a lunar presence within the next five years
'China has made extraordinary strides, especially in the last 10 years, but they are very, very secretive,' Nelson told members of the House Appropriations Committee at a "2024 budget hearing.
'We believe that a lot of their, so-called civilian space programs is a military program,' Nelson continued. 'And I think, in effect, we are in a race.'
Nelson made the statements to a committee this week as support for why NASA needs a $25.4 billion budget for 2025.
The country plans to establish a landing base on the moon's surface within the next five years, making it all the more necessary for the US to ramp up its efforts and investments to
