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Topic: Space Blog Brand: The Buzz Region: Americas Tags: Elon Musk, Jared Isaacman, Moon, NASA, North America, SpaceX, and United States Can Jared Isaacman Win the New Space Race with China? December 9, 2025 By: Brandon J. Weichert
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Isaacman’s strongest selling point as prospective NASA administrator is his close relationship with SpaceX head Elon Musk, whose help will be vital in restoring American space dominance.
After months in the political wilderness, private astronaut and tech mogul Jared Isaacman has made his triumphant return to the confirmation process to become the Trump administration’s next NASA director.
It couldn’t come at a better time. As it stands, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is but nanoseconds behind the Americans in the new space race—and this new space race is for keeps, with long-term geopolitical implications in ways that the previous space race between the United States and Soviet Union never had going for it.
This is something that Isaacman fundamentally understands, as his recent testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation showed.
NASA Has No Time to Lose
“This is not the time for delay, but for action,” was the key takeaway of Isaacman’s pitch to the US Senate. He was referring to the need to return American boots—on a more permanent basis—to the moon before the Chinese can place their own taikonauts on the lunar surface.
The problem facing Isaacman is that the Chinese have a whole-of-society approach to what their space policy officials routinely refer to as “space dominance.” And the moon factors greatly into that quest. Beijing has designs to colonize the moon for economic purposes—primarily to begin mining for critical rare earth minerals on the moon.
In fact, some estimates place the list of lunar rear earth minerals (REEs), precious metals (such as platinum and gold), and especially the isotope known as Helium-3 (He-3), a key element needed for efficient nuclear fusion reactions that is found exclusively on celestial bodies without an atmosphere, like the moon, to be potentially worth trillions of dollars.
Yes, it is true that the costs of space mining (for now) outweigh the benefits. But China has proven with its state capitalist model that it does not need to worry about profitability in the near-term for such endeavors. It is more interested in achieving long-term viability. Most experts agree that, eventually, space mining will be more than worth the cost. China is positioning itself to enjoy first-mover advantages in this industry—which, though nascent today, could fundamentally change the way humans develop resources and expand the economy.
The Earth-Moon System Grand Strategy
More importantly, though, Beijing understands that the moon is the strategic high ground in the overall Earth-Moon System.
Understanding the geopolitics of space is essential for knowing why the United States must return to the moon (with plans to stay). The Earth-Moon System is dominated from the moon. Control the moon and you control the orbits between the Earth and the moon and the orbits around the Earth. Control those orbits and you control the Earth below.
It is not enough to have the orbits. You must have the moon. And from the moon you can eventually launch missions—for much cheaper—to Mars and the rare earth mineral-rich asteroid belt beyond. China understands this. That’s why China is so intent on capturing the moon (and denying it to any country that it recognizes as a threat).
Ye Peijian, the head of China’s ambitious lunar program, said as much in 2019. At that time, the Chinese bureaucrat told the press that China viewed the universe as an ocean and the moon as the South China Sea. He added that, “If [China] doesn’t go [there] even though we’re capable of doing so, then we will be blamed by our descendants.”
Isaacman warned the Senate that the United States risks falling behind the Chinese in space and “if we make a mistake, we may never catch up, and the consequences could shift the balance of power here on Earth.”
These stark words are correct. And one of the critical ways that the US will maintain its nominal lead over China in space; the way it will beat the Chinese to the most strategic real estate on the lunar surface, is by cutting through NASA’s elephantine bureaucracy and partnering more closely with the private space sector.
NASA Must Leverage the Private Sector as Never Before
One of the primary selling points for why Jared Isaacman should be the NASA director is his own personal connections to the private space industry—notably his proximity to space baron Elon Musk.
SpaceX, Musk’s firm, has been instrumental in providing affordable, efficient launch services to the United States government for years. That firm’s unique innovations and affordability (compared to other launch services) have been decisive in keeping the United States ahead in the new space race.
Isaacman is a former SpaceX mission commander. He is personally close with Musk. He will leverage that relationship (and other relationships throughout the private space sector) to ensure that the US maintains and exploits its lead while not breaking the bank.
Returning astronauts to the moon before China can get there is a national security priority. If America loses the moon, it loses its leadership role on Earth. It’s just that simple. Isaacman understands this, and has a real plan for defeating China in the new space race.
That plan begins with returning American astronauts to the moon quickly, before the Chinese can get there.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is a senior national security editor at The National Interest. Recently, Weichert became the host of The National Security Hour on America Outloud News and iHeartRadio, where he discusses national security policy every Wednesday at 8pm Eastern. Weichert hosts a companion book talk series on Rumble entitled “National Security Talk.” He is also a contributor at Popular Mechanics and has consulted regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including The Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, and the Asia Times. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
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Источник: nationalinterest.org