NASA chief says China could claim the moon as its own territory if it beats the US to the lunar surface

business insider via yahoo ^ | January 2, 2023 | Kate Duffy

[RomanSoldier19]

The head of NASA has said that China could claim the moon as its own territory if beats the US in the race to the lunar surface.

In an interview with Politico, published Sunday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Chinese military expansion in the South China Sea was an indicator of what might happen on the moon.

Nelson said: "It is a fact: we're in a space race. And it is true that we better watch out that they don't get to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research. And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that they say, 'Keep out, we're here, this is our territory.'

"If you doubt that, look at what they did with the Spratly Islands."

[adorno]

NASA chief says China could claim the moon as its own

Well, let them have it.

A moon made of cheese will just make the Chinese fat and heavy, and they won't be able to get off and then die.

We could go for something better, like Mars, and claim it for the U.S.

[TexasFreeper2009]

exactly! we got there 50 years ago!

LMAO

who is the moron writing this?

[Bayard]

If True, USA should give Elon whatever he wants to get him to build starships to send military to space.

But it wont.

NASA can do nothing.

[tet68]

Getting there first means nothing if you aren’t there now.

[ifinnegan]

But that’s not what he was saying.

He said claim.

[FirstFlaBn]

NASA just wants the money to spend on social justice causes. Mitch will agree to it.

[Colinsky]

The moon is a much more hostile environment than even Antarctica, and much harder to keep a continuous presence there.

We should get some practice by building a fully-operational McDonald's on top of Mount Everest.

[Nifster]

That’s stupid. We’ve already been there multiple times and left our flag to prove it

Plus what are they gonna do with it? Nothing

[Chode]

iirc we already have a flag there

they can claim anything they want, can they keep it...

[Pilgrim's Progress]

I thought we already planted the U.S. flag on the moon? Or was that really made for TV fiction?

[blackdog]

Is this NASA guy stealing airport luggage at the baggage claims too?

[Freedom4US]

Nor the 1967 outer space Treaty.

It’s a stretch to think that these guys are really that stupid, but anything is possible, I guess.

[FreedomPoster]

They’re good for Muslim outreach and LGBTQXYZ recognition.

[arthurus]

But we made no territorial claim.

[Paladin2]

Don’t we have a flag on Mars too? [’Rat reference]

[Irenic]

Gingrich was laughed at over this.

[arthurus]

We landed them here but we did not keep them there and we folded operations.

[proust]

Good luck with that. Space is worthless and expensive.

[blackdog]

Dust on the moon limits any ability to stay there for any length of time. Not even more than a few days. Electrostatic binding microscopic razor blades. Even the space suits begin to catastrophically fail in as little as 100 hours of contact with the dust.

From what I've heard we enter an environment there where we become the several thousand volt DC static charge attraction for every particle of dust and debris. Electronics fail. Filters clog. Components overheat. Seals fail. Switches fail. Etc.....It's a nightmare.

[aquila48]

This is truly silly.

Anyone can claim whatever they want. The crucial question is, are they willing and able to enforce their claim?