The U.S. is at risk of ceding its lead in the new space race to China, experts told a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday, September 3, raising serious doubts about NASA’s ability to return American astronauts to the Moon before China.
The hearing, titled “There’s a Bad Moon on the Rise,” examined legislative priorities for NASA’s upcoming reauthorization to ensure that the U.S. maintains its leadership in space. The nation’s position is increasingly challenged by China, which has advanced rapidly toward its goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030. Witnesses warned Congress that uncertainty surrounding NASA’s Artemis program—stemming from delays, proposed budget cuts, a lack of unified direction, and other challenges—could cost the U.S. the new space race.
“This is a pivotal moment for our nation’s space program,” Committee Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said during his opening remarks. He went on to emphasize that space has become a “strategic frontier with direct consequences for national security, economic growth, and technological leadership.” Giving up this advantage to China would pose a “profound risk” to America, Cruz warned.
SpaceX in the doghouse
NASA aims to land astronauts on the moon by mid-2027 via its Artemis program, but at the Senate hearing on Wednesday, the experts said that the U.S. still lacks a fully operational lunar lander to support the mission. Part of the reason why is because development of SpaceX’s Starship—the agency’s contracted Human Landing System—slowed significantly as Elon Musk’s company has struggled with repeated explosive failures. While Starship’s most recent test flight on August 26 was a success, the massive rocket still has to prove its in-orbit refueling capability and safely land an uncrewed lunar mission before it can carry NASA astronauts.
Former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine testified that NASA’s reliance on SpaceX puts Artemis at risk of falling behind China’s lunar program, pointing to the work still required to get Starship up to snuff. And it will take “up to dozens” of Starship launches just to fill a propellant depot in low-Earth orbit that will allow the lander to refuel during its planned mission to the Moon, he added.
“Unless something changes, it is highly unlikely the United States will beat China’s projected timeline,” Bridenstine said.
Experts push for a unified national strategy
Meanwhile, China has charged ahead in developing its Lanyue crewed lunar lander, successfully completing the first integrated landing and takeoff test in August. Other key components of China’s lunar program infrastructure have made strides as well. The Long March 10 rocket recently underwent a static fire test, and in June, China validated its crew vehicle’s abort system.
At the hearing, the experts said China’s progress reflects a unified, coherent national strategy—something they argued that the U.S. currently lacks. “Getting cast to and fro from one administration to the next has been very damaging over time, and that’s the challenge with NASA,” Bridenstine said. “What we do is multi-decadal in nature, and sometimes it’s multi-generational, and you can’t just have it go back and forth.”
“The Chinese Communist Party is already employing its own integrated grand strategy for the Earth-Moon system,” said former Deputy Commander of the U.S. Space Command Lt. Gen. John Shaw.
On Wednesday, acting NASA Administrator Sean P. Duffy appointed Amit Kshatriya as Associate Administrator, the agency’s top civil service role. Kshatriya is a 20-year NASA veteran who most recently served as the deputy in charge of the Moon to Mars program, overseeing the planning and implementation of crewed Artemis missions. In an internal memo to NASA staffers, Duffy said Kshatriya is uniquely qualified to lead NASA as the agency works to maintain U.S. leadership in space exploration.
Uncertainty threatens international partnerships
While Kshatriya’s elevation may reflect a renewed focus on exploration, experts at the Senate hearing warned that NASA’s challenges extend beyond the organization itself. Uncertainty surrounding the Artemis program’s progress, budget, and architecture could damage relationships with industry and international partners, they said.
A key concern raised during the hearing was the fate of Gateway, a planned space station intended for lunar orbit. NASA is developing the station alongside several international partners to enable a sustained human presence around the Moon. Despite being canceled in the president’s 2026 budget proposal, Congress moved to allocate $750 million per year in funding for Gateway through fiscal year 2028, recognizing it as crucial to Artemis. That bill is not yet finalized, however.
Lawmakers and witnesses underscored Gateway’s importance during the hearing. Mike Gold, president of civil and international space at Redwire, noted that more than 60% of the space station’s cost are being borne by NASA’s international partners, with billions already spent. “Turning away from Gateway now would squander this unprecedented global investment in Artemis and force our international allies to seek partnerships with America’s geopolitical rivals,” he said.
The decisions Congress makes over the next several months will not only shape the timeline of Artemis, but the balance of power in space. If China beats the U.S. to the Moon, “we will see a global realignment that will impact our economy, our tax base, our ability to innovate, and our national security,” Gold warned.