WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th August, 2023) The United States does not want to return human astronauts to the Moon after 53 years in 2025 under the Artemis program and find that China has already beaten them to the South Lunar Pole and is then telling them to keep out, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said on Tuesday.
"I don't want China to get to the South Pole of the Moon first and say, 'This is ours: Stay out," Nelson said during a press conference. "You see what they've already done to the Spratly Islands (in the South China Sea). ... You see the actions of the Chinese government on earth. I don't want China to get to the South Pole first and say, 'This is ours, stay out.'"
Nelson acknowledged that the Lunar South Pole was a major strategic prize because its abundance of deep craters, dark shadows and often poor light and heat conditions meant that significant reserves of water might be discovered there for use in long-term human settlement.
"The South Pole of the Moon is pock marked with deep craters. If we find water there in abundance we want to make sure it is available to all. We are in a space race with China," he said.
NASA was still on schedule to land a new team of US astronauts, including the first woman astronaut and the first US astronaut of color, on the lunar service in December 2025 with the Artemis III mission, Nelson added.
