{"id":48343,"date":"2025-09-07T01:45:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T01:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/48343\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T01:45:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T01:45:17","slug":"duffy-pushes-back-against-testimony-that-nasa-is-falling-behind-china-in-lunar-exploration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/48343\/","title":{"rendered":"Duffy pushes back against testimony that NASA is falling behind China in lunar exploration"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 NASA\u2019s acting administrator said he was \u201cangry\u201d after a predecessor told Congress the agency was behind China in sending astronauts to the moon.<\/p>\n

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who has also served as NASA\u2019s acting administrator for nearly two months, used an internal NASA town hall Sept. 4 to emphasize the agency\u2019s exploration program amid criticism that it can\u2019t return astronauts to the moon before China lands humans there.<\/p>\n

In the video meeting, a recording of which was obtained by SpaceNews, Duffy cited a Senate Commerce Committee hearing the day before on NASA\u2019s exploration program<\/a>. \u201cThere\u2019s questions yesterday, actually, in a Senate hearing,\u201d he said, \u201cas we had testimony that said NASA will not beat China to the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was an apparent reference to testimony by Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator in the first Trump administration, who said it was \u201chighly unlikely that we will land on the moon before China,\u201d citing the complexity of the Artemis architecture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was shade thrown on all of NASA,\u201d Duffy said, without mentioning Bridenstine by name. \u201cI was angry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duffy repeated past comments, primarily in television interviews, that NASA would return astronauts to the moon before China landed its first crew.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be damned if that is the story that we write,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are going to beat the Chinese to the moon. We are going to make sure that we do this safely. We\u2019re going to do it fast. We\u2019re going to do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining Duffy at the meeting was Amit Kshatriya, the former head of the Moon to Mars Program Office, whom Duffy named associate administrator<\/a>, the top civil service position at the agency, Sept. 3. He vowed to \u201cpush back\u201d on comments like Bridenstine\u2019s testimony.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to take the idea that we\u2019re not going to win, and you\u2019ll see that in our will and in our actions as we go forward,\u201d Kshatriya said, urging the workforce to find ways to speed up Artemis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I\u2019d say is everything, every meeting, every discussion you have, every day you wake up, ask yourself, \u2018Is what I\u2019m doing helping us get back to the moon?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cIf it\u2019s not, stop doing it. You\u2019ll have my full support to stop doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither Duffy nor Kshatriya addressed Bridenstine\u2019s central concern. His Senate testimony focused on SpaceX\u2019s Starship, the planned lunar lander for Artemis 3. Testing setbacks earlier this year raised doubts the vehicle will be ready to carry astronauts to the surface in 2027 as planned.<\/p>\n

The town hall offered a rare chance for extended remarks from Duffy about NASA and his role. Since being named acting administrator July 9, he has limited public appearances to short television interviews, mainly on Fox News. He has not taken part in agency press conferences, and NASA\u2019s press secretary did not respond to a request last month to schedule an interview with him.<\/p>\n

Most of his comments centered on exploration, with little discussion of NASA\u2019s work in science, space technology, aeronautics or other areas. Duffy played down concerns about the administration\u2019s budget proposal, which sought to cut NASA funding by nearly 25% with steeper reductions in science and space technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe president, though we have a reduced budget, he gave us more money for space exploration. That\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do,\u201d he said, adding that the agency would still do \u201ccongressionally mandated science\u201d as well. \u201cAt this point, I think we have enough money to accomplish our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

He acknowledged, though, that NASA needs to cut the cost of exploration, citing estimates that each Artemis mission will cost $4 billion. \u201cI would just say that it\u2019s important that we bring the cost down,\u201d he said, but offered no specifics. \u201cAt $4 billion a launch, it becomes very challenging to have a moon program. We have to do things more cost-effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duffy said he would work with Kshatriya and others on ways to reduce costs for future Artemis missions but admitted he did not know how long he would serve as acting administrator. The White House has yet to nominate a permanent leader after abruptly withdrawing Jared Isaacman\u2019s nomination more than three months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m serving here at the pleasure of the president. I\u2019m going to be here for the foreseeable future,\u201d he said. \u201cI would just tell you that I could be here again for one day, for one month. I could be here for one year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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