NASA head fears China may seize rich areas of the Moon and block the United States from accessing them

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has expressed concerns amid China's success in lunar exploration.

Here's What We Know

Bill Nelson, the head of the space agency, believes that China may be the first to find resource-rich areas of the moon and cut off access to them. Nelson said that the Chinese taikonauts can, under the guise of scientific research, get "somewhere" and declare it their territory.

Bill Nelson's statement was commented on by Liu Pengyu, a representative of the Chinese Embassy in Washington. He called the remarks by "some U.S. officials" irresponsible and aimed at distorting China's legitimate activities in space. Pengyu also noted that outer space is not a battleground.

Note that China has made great strides in space exploration in recent years. Beijing has already sent several rovers to the moon and Mars, along with orbiters and landing modules. Chinese specialists are collecting soil samples in different parts of the Moon, including on the reverse side.

At the same time, the first taikonauts from China will be able to land on the natural satellite of our planet only at the end of the current decade. The United States intends to return to the moon in two years as part of the Artemis III mission, if everything goes according to plan.

Source: Politico