
The head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Bill Nelson, warned about the presence of the Chinese military in space under the mask of a civilian program.
According to The Guardian, the NASA administrator told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that, "China has made extraordinary strides, especially in the last 10 years, but they are very, very secretive."
He claimed, "We believe that a lot of their so-called civilian space program is a military program. And I think, in effect, we are in a race."
Nelson hoped that China would, “Come to its senses and understand that civilian space is for peaceful uses. We have not seen that demonstrated by China.”
Nelson also expressed his concern that if China arrives on the moon first, it might say, “OK, this is our territory; you stay out.”
Moreover, as both nations pursued lunar missions, he urged that the US should again land on the moon before China.
He also noted that "China has really thrown a lot of money at it, and they’ve got a lot of room in their budget to grow. I think that we just better not let down our guard."
Meanwhile, Bill Nelson was also confident that the US would not lose its ‘global edge’ in space exploration.