DAILY STAR
China could claim parts of the moon as its own as the country plans to launch astronauts into space, a top NASA employee warned.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson, a former astronaut and Florida senator, believes the east Asian nation could try to prevent other countries from accessing parts of the moon with the most natural resources if they make it there before the US does, Politico reported.
“It is a fact: we’re in a space race,” Nelson told the publication.
“And it is true that we better watch out that they don’t get to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research. And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that they say, ‘Keep out, we’re here, this is our territory.’”
Nelson added that China had similarly laid claim to a number of contested areas in the South China Sea.
The country also managed to establish a new space station in 2022 and its space program is now going from strength to strength.
Beijing has announced a goal to land its own astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade, and has some seriously out-of-this-world plans for the future – including building infrastructure in space and even setting up an otherworldly governance system.
