A live look on your screen of all things, the NASA assembly plant at the Kennedy Space Center. This is in Florida. Why? Work crews there preparing the rocket to be used in NASA's next big mission, Artemis 3. That program is part of a wider race between the US and China as both superpowers speed toward establishing a presence on the moon. All of the issues that Trump and Xi are going to be talking about, but the US-China space race is still up there. I spoke to the NASA administrator Jared Isaacman earlier today about the race to space and more.
Jared, thanks for being with us tonight. We appreciate it.
Absolutely, great to be here.
Of course. So, in Washington, obviously this big Trump-Xi meeting and a whole lot of issues to get to, but one of them that you believe is certainly at the top of the list is the US-China space race. What exactly is that? I know that's a big thing, but what exactly is it and why do you think it's so consequential?
Well, we absolutely are in the midst of a great power competition, of course, because I lead the world's most accomplished space agency. I put space exploration and the associated space race as a top priority, but it very much is underway right now. I mean, you know, President Trump's national space policy recommitted America to return to the moon, to establish an enduring presence, to build a moon base. Chinese are doing the same thing, and they're a great competitor. I mean, they've got their Long March 10 rockets. They intend to build a base on the South Pole of the moon, same location as us. They partner with Russia. They want to put a nuclear reactor on the South Pole of the moon. So, the competition is on.
It stood out to me, your predecessor Bill Nelson. We all remember that Chinese balloon that flew across the country, right? Here's what he said about that. He said, 'What many Americans first registered as a balloon violating our airspace was really a warning that the next great rivalry will not be fought on land or sea, but in the skies above us and even beyond our atmosphere.' He said the episode was a window into the new space race. And then Dan Caine, of course, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he said this.
Our task, my friends, is to adapt right now. So, the joint force is prepared to fight, endure, and win in global contested environments from the seabed to cis-lunar space.
They're basically saying the same thing there. Where are we ahead of China at this point in time and where might we actually be behind them?
Yeah, it's a really great question and obviously they're both correct. I mean, General Caine is pointing out the reality that this competition exists below the waves, on the surface, in the air, in space. I mean, but even beyond that, right? AI infrastructure, you know, major technology breakthroughs like next generation energy like fusion. They're building, you know, their version of the National Ignition Lab. So, bottom line is it's in all these critical and emerging domains. But Senator Nelson, former NASA Administrator Nelson, is also correct. We have a real rival here in China. They will absolutely do what the Soviets never could during the first space race. They intend to put their astronauts on the surface of the moon in 2029. Our intention is to do it in 2028. That means no matter what, it's coming down to months, not years. That is way too close. This second space race is way too close.
Does the timing matter there? Like, I understand we want to beat them and all that, but when folks are at home and they're like, 'My gosh, gas is so high, this and that, my daily life.' What would you tell them as to why all of that matters?
Well, it's a great question. You know, during the first space race, I mean, that was a battleground during the Cold War. It was a peaceful battleground, right? But when America pulled off the near impossible, July 20th, 1969, and Neil and Buzz walked on the moon, saluted the American flag, sent a message. I wonder what else America is capable of doing and maybe we should think twice before encroaching on their interests. Well, the inverse is also true. You've had every president going back to Reagan in 1988 who made the moon a national priority. We spent over 100 billion in taxpayer dollars, we failed to come up short, it says something is broken. Now, President Trump is committed to making sure that does not happen. He created the Artemis program during his first term, which is what resulted in that extraordinary mission when the astronauts went around the moon, and then my first day on the job, he gave us the national space policy. He gave us a ten billion dollar investment from the Working Family Tax Cut Act. He said, 'Return to the moon, build the base.' And why does that matter for the American people? All the technology we pioneered to get there makes life better back here on Earth, not to mention inspiring generation.
You mentioned 2028 for the US, 2030 for China. We have seen some scenes recently. Obviously Blue Origin had that massive blowup down there in Florida. China actually had something similar as well involving satellites. We're looking at some of it there. Why should we believe that we're on that timeline right now? That it will indeed be 2028 and 2030 for them if we see, and hopefully we don't see more of this, at least on this side, of course, but if we see stuff like that.
Oh, I mean, first of all, the Chinese have great insights into what we're doing. I mean, our NASA is peaceful exploration. We do come in peace. We're very transparent about our programs. They know the reality of our space program right now. And similarly, we have very good insight into the pace of progress of their program. I would not let the Blue Origin pattern anomaly, or what you're seeing with some of the Chinese launches of late to say that is indicative of the actual timeline. I'm telling you they're launching rockets almost every 48 hours.
