Nasa bars Chinese citizens from its facilities amid heated space race

American space agency Nasa has blocked Chinese citizens from its facilities and programmes as the rival nations remain locked in a space race to return a human to the Moon.

Nasa press secretary Bethany Stevens said it 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”.

Though the American space agency has historically restricted the employment of Chinese citizens, it has collaborated with those on US visas without any affiliation to Beijing as contractors or student scientists, but not as staff.

Several Chinese contributors of Nasa told Bloomberg that they were locked out of their IT systems on 5 September and barred from in-person meetings.

Nasa’s move comes amid Washington’s increasing anti-China rhetoric under Donald Trump and a space race that is heating up.

Astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman during an Artemis Media event at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center (AFP via Getty)

The US plans to land astronauts on the Moon by 2027 under its Artemis programme, a follow-up to the Apollo landings of 1969-72.

While the US programme has suffered repeated delays and cost overruns, China says it is on track to put a person on the Moon by 2030.

Both countries have proposed missions in recent weeks to set up a nuclear power plant on the Moon by mid-2030 as part of a plan to explore energy options for a lunar base.

“The first country to do so could potentially declare a ‘keep-out’ zone which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first,” Nasa’s acting administrator, Sean Duffy, said recently.

“We are in a second space race right now,” Mr Duffy told Fox News on Wednesday. “We are going back to the Moon and this time, when we plant our flag, we stay.”

He accused China of “not going to the Moon with good intentions”.

“It’s a military operation for the Chinese. We can’t cede space. We’re the leaders in America,” he claimed.

America winning the “second space race” would “preserve peace for both the US and our international partners”, Mr Duffy said.

“We will get to the Moon under President Trump’s term. Our mission is Artemis. We will win the second space race. China wants to beat us there, but we won’t let them.”