NASA Bars Chinese Citizens from Space Program

NASA has officially prohibited Chinese citizens from participating in its space program, marking a significant shift in response to the Trump administration’s efforts to limit Beijing’s influence on U.S. institutions, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

On September 5th, Chinese nationals collaborating with NASA were denied access to internal systems and prohibited from attending work-related meetings, as confirmed by sources familiar with the situation. Previously, Chinese individuals holding U.S. visas were allowed to work as contractors, graduate students, or university scientists within NASA’s research framework.

Nasa spokesperson Bethany Stevens stated, “NASA is taking internal actions related to the Chinese citizens, including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to facilities, materials, and networks to ensure the safety of our work.”

The change comes as the U.S. and China vie to return astronauts to the moon. NASA administrator Sean Duffy noted in a livestream, “We’re now in our second space race. The Chinese want to go back to the moon before us. That won’t happen. America has guided the universe into the past, and we intend to continue leading the universe in the future.”

This policy update is part of a broader trend; NASA has reduced its workforce by more than 20% since the beginning of the Trump era. Other federal agencies are following suit. For instance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses announced in late August that the Pentagon would no longer allow Chinese citizens to work on Department of Defense cloud servers after concerns arose that engineers in China could access sensitive server details through a Microsoft-led initiative.

Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture recently terminated contracts with about 70 foreign researchers from countries considered hostile, citing risks to the nation’s agriculture and food supply.