NASA blocked Chinese nationals from its facilities even if they have valid United States visas. The move comes amid a space race between the two world powers, a competition that has caused some concern among lawmakers.
NASA’s ban
The U.S. space agency’s new policy began on Sept. 5 when several Chinese nationals found out they had lost all access to NASA’s systems and facilities, according to a report from Bloomberg.
“NASA has taken internal action pertaining to Chinese nationals, including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities, materials and network to ensure the security of our work,” Bethany Stevens, NASA press secretary, said to Straight Arrow News.
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Bloomberg reported the Chinese nationals currently working at NASA found out suddenly about the change.
Chinese nationals are only allowed to work at NASA as contractors or students contributing to research.
Chinese astronauts are already excluded from the International Space Station (ISS) because the U.S. government has barred NASA from sharing data with China. China operates its own space station, called Tiangong.
Race to the moon
This all comes as the U.S. and China race to get back to the moon. Acting NASA Administrator and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy recently said he expected the U.S. to win the race.
“We are going to beat the Chinese to the moon,” Duffy reportedly said at an internal town hall which was obtained by SpaceNews. “We are going to make sure that we do this safely. We’re going to do it fast. We’re going to do it right.”
Those comments appeared to come in response to Senate testimony from former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. Bridenstine, who served in the role during President Donald Trump’s first term, expressed concerns about NASA’s program and said the U.S. is “highly unlikely” to land astronauts on the moon before China.
“Our complicated architecture requires a dozen or more launches in a short time frame, relies on very challenging technologies that have yet to be developed, like cryogenic in-space refueling, and still needs to be human-rated,” Bridenstine testified.
Part of the race to the moon is linked to what can be found on the moon, including billions of dollars of rare earth elements.
The Trump administration also proposed mass budget cuts at NASA, aimed at making their sole focus on getting astronauts to the moon and Mars.
Meanwhile, China has now publicly backed a plan to team with Russia and build a nuclear reactor on the moon to power the International Lunar Research Station.
