US-China space race for moon mining heats up

During the Apollo missions, scientists discovered rare earth elements in its lunar samples. China and the U.S. are now exploring space mining on the moon's surface.

U.S. scientists have been studying the moon for decades and stayed ahead of the competition when it came to examining the moon’s surface. The U.S. is the only country to place humans on the moon for exploration. During the Apollo 11 mission, a control operator warned astronauts to "watch for a lovely girl with a big rabbit." He may have foreshadowed China’s space ambitions when mentioning Chang’e. It’s the name of a Chinese folktale about a moon goddess who flies to the lunar surface with her rabbit. It is also the name of China’s lunar exploration program. Bret Baier is the Chief Political Anchor of Fox News Channel, and the Anchor and Executive Editor of "Special Report with Bret Baier." He is the author of five presidential biographies. His fifth biography, "To Rescue the Constitution: George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment" is out October 10, 2023. 

China performed its first successful soft landing on the moon in 2013 and launched its lunar rover, the Jade Rabbit. It was the first landing in nearly 37 years. Despite the U.S. dominance early on, NASA has not performed a soft landing since 1972, the final Apollo mission.

"It’s another reason why we should never leave certain territories, whether it's a poor country in Africa or the moon," said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. "When we abandon areas, we leave them available to bad actors like China. China steps in wherever they can [and] play by a different set of rules, if any rules at all."