The United States will redouble efforts to ensure its return to the moon ahead of China and also establish an enduring presence on Earth’s natural satellite to entrench the country’s presence, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said on Wednesday during a Senate confirmation hearing.
Such a sense of urgency for the US to accelerate its pace in this “second space race” has haunted Capitol Hill, as Beijing, a strategic rival framed by Washington, is catching up quickly, from low-earth-orbit satellite communications to space stations and Mars exploration.
“America will return to the moon before our great rival, and we will establish an enduring presence to understand and realise the scientific, economic and national security value on the lunar surface,” said Jared Isaacman, an e-commerce tycoon who commanded the first all-civilian space flight in 2021 and was also the first private citizen conducting a spacewalk in 2024.
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This was Isaacman’s second hearing before the Senate, since Trump withdrew his nomination soon after the first hearing in April. If approved, which is likely before year-end given the bipartisan support shown in Wednesday’s Senate committee, he would oversee an agency with some 14,000 employees and a roughly US$25 billion budget.
“We are in a great competition with a rival that has the will and means to challenge American exceptionalism across multiple domains, including in the high ground of space,” the 42-year-old billionaire told the Senate commerce committee.
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Nasa astronauts finally back on Earth after 9-month delay
Nasa astronauts finally back on Earth after 9-month delay
“This is not the time for delay, but for action, because if we fall behind, if we make a mistake, we may never catch up, and the consequences could shift the balance of power here on earth,” he warned.