Bill Nelson of the U.S. space agency accused the superpower of stealing technology and ideas to enable a weaponization of the lunar surface.
Author’s Note
This article is based on accredited media reports. Linked information within this article is attributed to the following outlets: NASA, Today.com, DailyMail.co.uk, Wikipedia.org, and GlobalEurope.eu.
Introduction
Today.com featured a clip on its main page early this morning, “NASA Warns China Could Try to Take Over the Moon by 2030,” that revealed the latest space-age conflict. Tom Costello’s video report can be accessed by clicking the above link.
The warning received substantial global attention, and is based on NASA Administrator Bill Nelson’s words of July 2 accusing China of preparing to militarize the lunar surface.
As reported by DailyMail.co.uk., in its piece titled “China Rejects NASA Accusation it Will Take Over the Moon,” China refused to accept the charge: China on Monday denounced NASA's claims it is planning to take over the moon as part of its military space program. The allegations came NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who told Bild on Saturday that the U.S. is now involved in a space race with China.'We must be very concerned that China is landing on the moon and saying: 'It's ours now and you stay out',' he told German newspaper.
Let us explore further.
Accusation and Response
The above-linked Daily Mail report also includes the official Chinese statement on the matter, as issued by Zhao Lijian, a spokesman at the Chinese foreign ministry: ”This is not the first time that the head of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration has ignored the facts and spoken irresponsibly about China. The US side has constantly constructed a smear campaign against China's normal and reasonable outer space endeavors, and China firmly opposes such irresponsible remarks.”
For perspective, Wikipedia features an overview of the space race proper, among the Cold War’s most notable conflicts: The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union and the United States, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the two nations following World War II. The technological advantage demonstrated by spaceflight achievement was seen as necessary for national security,, and became part of the symbolism and ideology of the time. The Space Race brought pioneering launches of artificial satellites, robotic space probes to the Moon, Venus, and Mars, and human spaceflight in low Earth orbit and ultimately to the Moon.
International site GlobalEurope.eu featured a comprehensive August, 2021 piece about China‘s unexpected rise as a global superpower. In “Superpower Rising: The Background of China’s Economic Success Story in a Nutshell,” the country’s capabilities are scrutinized in the first of a five-part portrayal.
From the article: 20 years ago, things looked different: the country’s political system was even predicted to lead to “The coming collapse of China” (Gordon Chang). Instead, however, the world’s most populous country experienced an almost meteoric rise to become the new global superpower. Western countries, on the other hand, stumbled from one economic and social crisis to the next and seem to have no satisfactory answers to pressing problems. The Corona pandemic demonstrated this impressively. These developments have brought back to the table the question of the “competition of systems”, which seemed to have been settled after the collapse of the former Soviet Union…
As China continues to increase in power, global concern continues to be expressed as to its economic, social, and militaristic agenda.
Conclusion
Bill Nelson’s accusation has not been taken lightly by China. As such, U.S. foreign policy makers are expected to keep their eyes on what may — or may not — develop into a mutual scourge.
Thank you for reading.
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