NASA bars Chinese citizens from its facilities, networks, even Zoom calls
- Reference: 1757568493
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/09/11/nasa_china_ban/
- Source link:
The space agency introduced the ban last week and Bloomberg [1]discovered it first. NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens has since issued a statement that confirms the agency “has taken internal action pertaining to Chinese nationals, including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities, materials and network to ensure the security of our work.”
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand why NASA implemented this policy: In July, dual Chinese/American citizen Chenguang Gong [2]admitted to a lengthy industrial espionage campaign that saw him download information on sensors used by aircraft to confuse infrared-seeking missiles, plus data on radiation-hardened cameras that the US placed in orbit to give an early warning of incoming rockets and hypersonic vehicles. China has also recruited spies at the [3]US Navy .
[4]
Given NASA does plenty of work with the US military, the risk of serious data loss is significant.
[5]US Navy sailor admits selling secret military blueprints to China for $15K
[6]China sends an AI to its space station, where Taikonauts use it to prep for spacewalk
[7]China sends cloud powered by homebrew Loongson CPUs into space
[8]China says its lunar lander passed Luna-landing and take-off tests
National pride is also at stake. China and the USA are both trying to land astronauts on the moon in coming years. Former NASA staff last week [9]suggested Chinese Taikonauts will put boots on regolith before US astronauts leave their mark.
NASA acting administrator Sean Duffy has since rubbished that notion.
[10]
“Our mission is maintaining American dominance in space,” he said in a Wednesday [11]video . “China wants to get there, but we’re getting there first.”
Duffy also re-stated US policy that returning to the Moon is a precursor for future crewed missions to Mars.
[12]
US law bars NASA from collaborating with China’s space program, or Chinese private space companies unless the aerospace agency applies to Congress for permission. NASA did so in 2023 after it deemed the Lunar material China returned to Earth aboard its Chang'e 5 mission was too important to ignore. Chinese state media [13]claimed NASA’s request to view the samples shows the Middle Kingdom is now a significant space power that America cannot ignore. ®
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[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-10/nasa-cuts-access-for-chinese-citizens-in-us-beijing-space-salvo
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/22/engineer_admits_trade_theft/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/us_navy_china_spy/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aMKdt91TEqysJS9x_evkNAAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/us_navy_china_spy/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/19/china_wukong_ai_space_station/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/24/asia_tech_news_in_brief/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/11/china_lunar_lander_test_success/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/04/jim_bridenstine_nasa_moon/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aMKdt91TEqysJS9x_evkNAAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyso-geJT6o
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aMKdt91TEqysJS9x_evkNAAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202411/05/WS67296a8da310f1265a1cb6a9.html
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: "we’re getting there first"
Sell him the idea of a Trump Tower and Golf Resort on the Moon.
“Our mission is maintaining American dominance in space,”
And here all this time I thought it had something to do with science.
Re: “Our mission is maintaining American dominance in space,”
yes, I too think that's the core of the problem
"dual Chinese/American citizen": bit odd as China doesn't allow dual citizenship.
Only if they know about it. Seeing as the US allows it, it's probably not that uncommon for Chinese nationals to also become a US citizen without declaring it to the Chinese authorities, whereas a US citizen applying for a Chinese citizenship would be specifically asked to relinquish their US citizenship as a condition of attaining Chinese citizenship.
Only if they know about it.
Not only that, but also some countries do not accept the idea that you can repudiate your citizenship; even if or when you take out another, and even if you do not want the old citizenship any more.
I recall -- somewhat hazily, as it was decades ago -- an Australian MP (or perhaps Senator?) who could not be an Australian MP because to do so they were not allowed to be a dual national. However, they were a Greek national before they became Australian, and Greece (at least at the time) wouldn't let him revoke his Greek citizenship, however much he wanted to.
I believe the solution was that he wrote to the Greek government explicitly disavowing his Greek citizenship. This apparently was sufficient for Australian legal purposes, but presumably was ignored by Greece, who, quite naturally, followed Greek law, and still considered him Greek.
In the Chinese/US case, I imagine if some circumstances were to arise where the individual might say to China that they were a US national, then the Chinese government would simply say "no, you are not"; at which point which country they happened to be standing in would become of particular relevance.
see, simple answer to the question, not rocket science was it :o)
So...
It's the "red scare" all over again isn't it ?
NASA acting administrator Sean Duffy has since rubbished that notion
Was he the one who also said they should accept a higher probably of loss-of-life to get there faster?
I know someone said something like that recently, but I can't find a reference...
Even Baldrick's cunning plan...
to recruit non PRC† citizen to spy for you would actually work.
It's not as though 90% of the rest of the planet wouldn't be overjoyed to see the US get a poke in the eye.
I could easily imagine a fair number of Americans of Chinese heritage might be seriously be considering become citizens of Chinese heritage of a more hospitable nation.
Once a nation starts discriminating between its citizens based on their heritage any cohesion it might have enjoyed evaporates.
† "Chinese citizens" could equally refer to those of Taiwan.
Re: "Chinese citizens" could equally refer to those of Taiwan
Allow me to protest that. China has no hold on El Reg, and Taiwan it its own country.
Do not play into Beijing's hand by confounding the two. Not on the Internet.
China can browbeat countries into no recognizing Taiwan, but we are not countries. We are individuals and we have the right to voice our opinions without Beijing's blessing.
Overt racism
>> You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand why NASA implemented this policy
Get the fuck out of here. The USA has a long history of anti-Chinese racism. This is just the latest manifestation of that. And Simon Sharwood is a cheerleader. I can imagine him writing in 1862 about the Anti-Coolie act words like: you don't need to be a coolie to understand why. Shame on him.
I expect the sign makers around NASA to be having a boost to their businesses. No dogs and Chinese allowed.
See, we got to the moon first! Now, sorry to say that we had to scrap the Human Sample Return mission to remain within budget .... but don't worry, we sent them astronauts a couple potatoes to farm.
Does that ban also apply to green card holders? It sure sounds like it, but this article only talks about visas, which the green card is not. And how about golden ticket holders?
"we’re getting there first"
Oh really ? With what money ?
Trump has gutted your budget. Unless you can prepare and launch a Moon rocket with a million dollars, you're not going anywhere soon.