Washington: NASA has imposed new restrictions preventing Chinese nationals with valid visas from participating in its programs, heightening the space race with China.
The shift, confirmed by the agency, has already affected contractors and students who had previously contributed to research projects. Several individuals told the outlet they were abruptly locked out of NASA’s IT systems and barred from in-person meetings on September 5.
“NASA has taken internal action about Chinese nationals, including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities, materials, and network to ensure the security of our work,” NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens said Wednesday.
The move comes amid heightened anti-China rhetoric under President Donald Trump’s administration, which has sought to draw sharper lines in the geopolitical and technological competition between Washington and Beijing.
Both countries are racing to send crews to the moon. NASA’s Artemis program is aiming for a crewed lunar landing in 2027, though it has faced persistent delays and cost overruns. China, meanwhile, has pledged to land its astronauts, or ‘taikonauts,’ by 2030 and has so far met its interim targets with greater consistency.
“We’re in a second space race right now. The Chinese want to get back to the moon before us. That’s not going to happen. America has led in space in the past, and we are going to continue to lead in space in the future,” NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy said at a Wednesday briefing on Mars exploration.
The competition also extends to Mars. Beijing has set its sights on becoming the first nation to return samples from the Martian surface, with a robotic mission slated for 2028 and a return targeted for as early as 2031.
The Trump administration, by contrast, has proposed cancelling the planned Mars Sample Return mission, a joint project with the European Space Agency, citing budgetary concerns. Officials have suggested the task could instead be handled by a future crewed mission, though details remain unclear.
