AUSTIN – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) authored the following op-ed in the Houston Chronicle highlighting the importance of continued American involvement in the space race and investment in aerospace infrastructure at NASA facilities like Johnson Space Center to equip our nation for human missions to the moon and Mars:
We can't let China win the new Space Race
Senator John Cornyn
The Houston Chronicle
August 29, 2025
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/space-race-china-us-cornyn-21015299.php
The architect of modern China, Deng Xiaoping, famously said, "Hide your strength and bide your time." Decades ago, the Chinese Communist Party opened the floodgates to foreign investment, allowing the country to build a competitive economy and formidable military. Now Americans watch as China’s space ambitions accelerate at an alarming pace to establish a lunar base and put a man on the moon by 2030.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to read the tea leaves: China wants to win and won’t shy away from flouting the rules-based international order to do so. It’s up to America to beat them.
Military experts have long said that space is the ultimate high ground. Those who control the final frontier control the future. The pursuit that began six decades ago as one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind has transformed into a quest that now reaches farther into the solar system.
As artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing reshape the global economy, so shifts the geopolitical and threat landscape. To be a global superpower in the coming decades, a country must succeed in the fields of energy, bio-technology and chip manufacturing and design. These are the keys to winning the competitions of tomorrow. Today’s battle for the moon and the eventual battle for Mars will prove crucial for accessing critical resources, securing intelligence and harnessing the potential of a multitrillion-dollar marketplace.
What does strategic competition with China in the 21st century look like? First, America must develop the tools for a long-term presence in low Earth orbit. The cutting-edge research being done in microgravity is fueling advancements in bio-technology and high-performing chips. In low Earth orbit, scientists can produce more uniform materials and purer fibers.
Biotech innovation also thrives in microgravity. A research project that may take years on Earth has the potential to be done in just weeks in low Earth orbit, and research there has already led to major breakthroughs in cancer-killing treatments, human tissue growth and new ways to combat cardiac disease and neurodegeneration.
The good news is Houston is already excelling in the LEO economy. Johnson Space Center is home to the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program, putting the power of Texas’ private space industry behind NASA’s legacy of success. And I will soon introduce legislation to advance microgravity research to ensure continued U.S. leadership in space innovation.
We also cannot overlook the national security imperative of LEO. Reportedly, 70% to 90% of the Pentagon’s intelligence gathering comes from satellites orbiting just a few hundred miles from Earth. Failure to sustain our presence there would not only hamstring our defense capabilities but also open the door to malign interference, including from China.
A U.S. presence on the moon will also help meet future demand for energy and critical minerals. Helium-3, for instance, is a rare light isotope that can be used for high-quality MRI medical imaging, nuclear fusion reactors and quantum computing. This renewable resource, with mega reserves on the lunar surface, promises virtually unlimited possibilities.
Beijing has already begun exploring ways to extract it, from collecting samples from the dark side of the Moon to establishing a lunar south pole mission. They have even signaled intent to work with Russia to construct a new lunar base by 2035. If America doesn’t take advantage of the moon’s untapped resources, China will.
Finally, the United States must set our sights on Mars. President Trump has raised the urgency for America to plant the flag on the red planet and beyond. My Mission to MARS Act, which was signed into law as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will position Houston’s Johnson Space Center to lead on this front by modernizing the facility’s human spaceflight infrastructure and bolstering its research capabilities.
The frontiers of space are vast and unknown, but one thing is certain: America must emerge as the victor. There is no doubt in my mind that Space City will play a central role in our nation’s journey to the next frontier.
America must level up. The new Space Race has implications for our economy, the wars of the future and our competitive edge over our foreign adversaries.
We cannot and will not cede the celestial field to our adversaries. The stakes are too high. The cost of failure is too great. With China on our heels, America’s economic and national security hinges on our ability to maintain U.S. leadership in space.
My message to President Xi Jinping is simple: America hung the moon. Come and take it.
Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is a member of the Senate Finance, Judiciary, Intelligence, Foreign Relations, and Budget Committees.
