MIAMI — China continues to expand its capabilities in the space and conceals a military space program under the guise of a civilian one, said the head of the US space agency (NASA) this Wednesday.
The Asian giant “has made extraordinary progress in the last 10 years, but it is very, very secret,” Bill Nelson declared before an expenditure committee of the House of Representatives of the US Congress in Washington.
“We believe that much of your so-called civilian space program is a military program,” he continued.
“I would hope that China, the Chinese Space Program, would come to their senses and understand that civil space is for peaceful uses. But we have not seen China demonstrate that,” he added.
The United States is in a “race” with Beijing, according to Nelson, who stressed that his country must land on the moon before the Chinese. “My concern is that if China comes first, they will suddenly say, okay, this is our territory, you stay out.”
The United States hopes to send its astronauts to the Moon in 2026 with its Artemis 3 mission. China also hopes to send its astronauts in 2030.
Nelson testified to US congressmen on the occasion of the annual budget request for NASA.
Questioned by one of the legislators about the consequences of a possible loss of American leadership in space to China, Nelson assured that this should not happen.
“Although we have to be realistic. China has really invested a lot of money in it (…) I think it’s just better that we don’t let our guard down,” he warned.
Source: With information from AFP
