NASA bans Chinese citizens from participating in space programs

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NASA has started restricting Chinese nationals with valid visas from participating in its programs, highlighting the growing space race between the two nations.

The change was initially reported by Bloomberg News and later confirmed by NASA officials.

“NASA has implemented internal measures concerning Chinese nationals, including limiting physical access and cybersecurity permissions to our facilities, materials, and networks to protect our operations,” NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens told AFP on Wednesday.

Previously, Bloomberg reported that Chinese citizens had been permitted to work as contractors or students involved in research projects, but they weren’t employed as official staff members.

However, on September 5, several individuals informed the outlet that they suddenly lost access to IT systems and were prohibited from attending in-person meetings. These individuals requested anonymity.

This decision occurs amid rising anti-China rhetoric during Donald Trump’s administration. The U.S. and China are competing to send crews to the Moon.

The U.S. Artemis program, a successor to the Apollo missions of 1969-1972, aims to land astronauts by 2027 but has faced delays and budget overruns.

In contrast, China plans to land its “taikonauts” by 2030 under its space program and has recently made more consistent progress in meeting deadlines.

“We’re currently in a second space race,” said acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy during a Wednesday press conference about recent Mars rover discoveries.

“China wants to get back to the Moon before we do. That won’t happen. America has led space exploration in the past, and we intend to stay in the lead.”

China also aims to be the first to return samples from Mars, with a robotic mission scheduled for launch in 2028 that could bring back rocks by 2031.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has indicated through its recent budget proposal that it plans to cancel a planned Mars Sample Return mission — a collaborative effort with the European Space Agency. It has suggested that the task might instead be completed through a crewed mission, though no concrete plans have been announced.