We are talking, in particular, about Chinese research with the potential participation of Russia, said former US senator and astronaut Bill Nelson
WASHINGTON, April 21. /TASS/. China's space exploration, including lunar exploration and potentially involving Russia, should be of concern to the United States. This opinion was expressed on Wednesday by former US Senator and astronaut Bill Nelson, who was previously nominated by US President Joe Biden to become the new head of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Speaking before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee at a hearing to consider his candidacy, Nelson argued: "There is a threat posed by China, trying, in fact, to get hold of a lot of our secrets, a lot of our technology." "When you take into account this global concern and project it on the space program, you need to worry about it," the candidate for the post of head of NASA is convinced.
"China has said it wants to land a man on the moon. Recently, China said that it would join forces with Russia to land a man on the moon <...> I think that we need to worry about this, " Nelson said. He was answering questions from Senator Marsha Blackburn (Republican, from Tennessee), who accused the PRC of anti-American activities.
The 78-year-old Nelson, who is a member of the ruling Democratic Party of the United States at this stage, was elected three times to the Senate of Congress from the state of Florida, where he was born and lives. He served in the Upper House of Congress from 2001-2019. Previously, he was a member of the House of Representatives of the Congress (in 1979-1991). During his time in the Senate and the House of Representatives, he also chaired the space subcommittees. Since 2019, he has been a member of the NASA Advisory Board. In 1986, he made a space flight as part of the STS-61C mission as part of the Space Shuttle program. Nelson became the second-ever sitting member of Congress and the first member of the House of Representatives to travel to space.
