The NASA chief noted China’s military presence in space and said Beijing was using its civilian space program to hide military targets.

“China has made extraordinary progress, especially in the last decade, but they are very, very secretive,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

“We believe that many of their so-called civilian space programs are military programs,” Nielsen was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “I think, in effect, we are in a race.”

While noting the threat, the NASA administrator also warned Washington to remain vigilant.

He added that China would “come to its senses and understand that civilian space is for peaceful purposes.”

“We haven’t seen China exhibit that,” Nelson added.

Nelson made the remarks while testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on NASA’s 2025 budget.

He also added that the United States needs to land on the moon again before China does.

However, he expressed concern that if Beijing lands on the moon first, they might say, “Well, it’s ours, don’t go in there.”

Nelson had earlier said the United States was in a “space race” with China and warned that China could eventually claim “ownership” of resource-rich areas on the moon.

China has established an Earth-orbiting space station and launched multiple lunar orbiting and sample recovery missions in 2022.

Subsequently, the United States has been formulating a strategy to return astronauts to the moon in 2026 on the Artemis III mission.

China, on the other hand, aims to put humans on the moon by 2030.