By Janet Mayes
April 14, 2026

Because of the recent “moon joy” surrounding the Artemis II lunar mission, this article updates and supplements “The race for moondust: U.S. imperialism vs. China”, republished in “China Changes Everything.” (World View Forum, 2025)

There is much fanfare surrounding the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Artemis II recent mission around the moon, a crucial step toward the United States striving to build a permanent moonbase there before China does.

When the Artemis project was first announced, NASA boasted that the first person of color and the first woman would be traveling to the moon, with implications that they would be landing there. The current Artemis II launch actually only sent them in an orbit around the moon. The future lunar landing crew has yet to be announced. Last year NASA removed from its website that it was committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

The establishment of a permanent moonbase partially depends on the success of centibillionaire Elon Musk’s super rocket, the SpaceX Starship, designed as a lander to ferry astronauts from lunar orbit to the moon’s surface and back.

In 2021, SpaceX won a $2.89 billion NASA contract to develop this super rocket, but so far its performance has been seriously lacking. In 2023, the rocket’s unsuccessful launch spewed explosive brown grime and dust onto populated areas in Texas’s Boca Chica area, which Musk called “a wasteland.” (New York Times, Apr. 21, 2023)

The blasts are destroying the fragile surrounding ecostructure, replete with endangered species. (ESG Hound, Apr. 16, 2023) In March of 2025, their super rocket exploded again, spewing debris on the Bahamas (bahamas.com, March 7, 2025) and temporarily grounding flights at Florida airports. (CBS News, March 6, 2025)

Several months later, Starship finally achieved a “largely successful” test flight. (New York Times, Aug. 26, 2025) But Artemis is still behind schedule, now expected to land astronauts on the moon no earlier than 2028. Another centibillionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is competing with SpaceX for the first landing assignment.

The China National Space Administration, meanwhile, has already successfully tested a lunar lander. (New York Times, Aug. 26, 2025)

A global clean energy solution or a multibillion-dollar market?

What is this really all about? The U.S. is hellbent on building mining stations on the moon before China does because of another kind of dust, moondust, replete with helium-3, touted to be the fuel for an emerging technology that will provide clean, abundant energy.

In 2021, Beijing’s Research Institute of Uranium Geology announced that China’s lunar Chang’e 5 mission, launched in November 2020, had collected 1,731 grams of lunar samples of this precious, rare, stable isotope of helium on the moon.

Helium-3 fusion technology promises to produce clean energy — nuclear energy without radioactive waste. Fossil fuels, which the U.S. heavily relies on, and even current nuclear power plant technology, would become obsolete.

Three space missions bringing back the helium-rich moondust could provide the entire planet with energy for a year. (China Daily, July 26, 2006) One cargo bay load (about 25 tons) on a space shuttle would power the entire U.S. for a year, representing a value of about $3 billion per ton.

“The country that controls the source of energy that keeps technological civilization running will control the Earth,” according to an article in The Hill in 2022, elaborating: “The moon could become the Persian Gulf of the mid-to late-21st century. Clean and abundant fusion energy would change the world in ways that can barely be evaluated.”

China, along with Russia, plans to complete construction of a lunar base by 2035. Then it will mine the helium-3 rich crystal “Changesite-(Y),” which is contained in vast quantities on the moon’s regolith (the layer of unconsolidated rocky material covering bedrock). The Hill’s analysis described the crystal sample returned by the Chang’e probe as “exceedingly tiny, about one-tenth the size of a human hair. … The helium-3 that it contains has the potential to change the world.” (The Hill, Sept. 18, 2022)

Since China has accelerated plans for lunar exploration and future mining, the panicked imperialist countries, particularly the U.S., cannot just sit by and watch. They are horrified at the possibility that China could be the first country to gather the moondust that contains helium-3. If they lose this space race, imperialist governments and corporations will lose the opportunity to corner this multibillion-dollar market and sell this potentially planet-saving technology for profit.

In preparation for landing people on the moon before China does, NASA has engaged several private companies to gather moondust samples, which, according to SpaceNews, is “part of an effort by the agency to establish a precedent for ownership and use of space resources.” For example, in 2020, NASA hired the Masten Space System to gather small lunar samples, which NASA will then claim to own. “Today’s Lunar Regolith Purchase is small measured in dollars,” Masten tweeted, “but monumental in impact on unlocking the value of space for humanity.” (SpaceNews, Dec. 3, 2020)

After it filed for bankruptcy in 2022, Masten was acquired by Astrobotic Technology, which retained the Masten team contracted by NASA. (The Robot Report, Sept. 13, 2022)

The ultimate value, of course, is mammoth profits for the U.S., its imperialist allies and its private companies if they control the mining, transporting and fusion processing of helium-3. Given the fragile condition of Western economies, it is a space race the imperialists cannot afford to lose. With artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly emerging as the wave of the future, larger availability of helium-3, which is extremely rare on earth, will also ultimately reduce power consumption by this technology.

Known by investors as the “fuel of the quantum era,” annasviews.com (Oct. 3, 2025) notes: “That’s not just a story of scarcity, it’s a story of leverage. A small amount of helium-3 can enable trillions of dollars in economic value. … If even a fraction of that supply can be accessed, it could rewrite the economics of quantum computing overnight. …

“China has also announced its intention to mine helium-3, aiming to gain a lead in both energy and quantum supremacy. For Washington, allowing rivals to dominate this resource would mean ceding technological leadership. That’s why contracts and grants are already flowing into the companies attempting to solve the extraction challenge. …

“In other words, helium-3 isn’t just about economics — it’s a matter of national security. Whoever controls this resource controls a critical bottleneck in the quantum race. … NASA estimates alone suggest a potential supply worth trillions if even partially tapped. That’s why contracts are already being written and why venture capital is quietly pouring in.” (Also see, balerionspace.substack.com, March 18, 2025)

In May 2025, Interlune — a startup company which plans to use AI to mine the moon, founded by, among others, two former executives of Jeff Bezos’s spaceship company Blue Origin — revealed that it had signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to harvest three liters of helium-3 from the lunar regolith and return it to Earth. (SpaceNews, June 4, 2025)

A mountain of lies exposed

The U.S. and its imperialist allies rationalize spending billions of taxpayers’ dollars to beat China to the moon by repeating unsubstantiated lies and the standard China-bashing. These tactics are well-documented; for example, articles by Sara Flounders (“Accomplishments belie U.S. propaganda,” Workers World, June 9, 2023) and Arjae Red (“Imperialist media can’t stop lying about mosques in China,” Workers World, June 22, 2023), as well as Carlos Martinez’s book “The East is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century” (Praxis Press, 2023) have all exposed similar lies.

U.S. officials and media figures often claim that China must be prevented from “ruling” the world and frequently lie in support of this accusation. In 2022, warning of a new “space race” with China, NASA chief Bill Nelson was quoted by the Global Times as being “very concerned about” the joint Chinese-Russian lunar research base and baselessly accused China of wanting to “occupy the moon.” (July 3, 2022)

The right-wing U.S. news outlet Washington Examiner attacked China in 2023 with the fabricated, ominous statement: “If the West turns away from space, China, which cares little for human rights … will forge ahead. A Chinese-dominated space frontier is not a future that anyone should want.” (April 12, 2023)

China’s Humane Approach to Battling Climate Disaster

Actually, it is clear that a “Chinese-dominated space frontier” is a future that everyone should want. If our planet is to survive the climate disaster, it is imperative that the imperialists lose the race to the moon.

Far from being profit motivated, China’s approach to international energy production is geared toward protecting the planet. As Martinez explains when discussing China’s “green energy” solution in his abundantly-researched book, socialist China’s international humanitarian policies are aimed at saving the globe from climate catastrophe.

China is not driven by the profit motive and will not seek world domination by harnessing helium-3 technology. As Workers World Managing Editor Deirdre Griswold wrote, “China’s economic planners have the power to make decisions that cost a lot of money but will benefit the people — and the world — over the long run.” (Workers World, Jan. 24, 2017)

In the meantime, in addition to developing the fusion technology, China has begun the construction of a Space Solar Power Station (SSPS), a space-based power generation system used to collect solar energy before converting it into electricity and then into microwaves. It is expected to launch into low orbit in two years. By 2050, it is estimated that the solar plant will be able to generate more kilowatt-hours of energy in one year than are contained in all of the oil within the Earth. China’s goal is to provide free, clean energy, not reap profit. (Workers World, Feb. 28, 2025)

A 21st-century gold rush

In 2020, NASA, the U.S. Department of State and the newly re-established National Space Council created the Artemis Accords. Its principles, according to the State Department, “establish a common political understanding regarding mutually beneficial practices in the exploration and use of outer space, including activities conducted in support of NASA’s Artemis program.” (U.S. Department of State, “Artemis Accords,” accessed Aug. 30, 2025)

The document sounds benign, promising cooperation among signatory countries, all sorts of safety protocols and preservation of lunar historic sites, such as the first Apollo landing site. However, a sleight of hand embedded in the Accord’s wording about “safety zones” actually grants control of lunar mining sites to whichever countries and corporations lay down a stake first — except for China!

Both China and Russia have criticized the concept of “safety zones” laid out in the Accords, and according to an article in the Space Policy journal, “Whilst the use of Safety Zones is ostensibly proposed for small scale In Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) activities focussed on lunar water production, messaging around the Artemis Accords has indicated that there may be an intent to use them to set precedent for longer term, larger scale commercial resource activity.” (Space Policy 62, November, 2022)

Not surprisingly, 24 of the 50 signatories to the Accords are NATO members, and the others fall within the economic and strategic influence of the U.S., including Israel and Japan. The U.S. Congress in fact voted against inviting China to sign, being against cooperating with their chief competitor.

Bezos versus Musk

Blue Origin, owned by centibillionaire Jeff Bezos — founder and current executive chairman of Amazon and owner of the Washington Post — is competing with SpaceX to be the first to ferry astronauts to the moon. In addition, Bezos pushes on with other profitable lunar ventures. He is developing “Blue Alchemist” technology, a process that would produce solar cells and transmission wire using simulated moon regolith. Blue Origin claims that the resulting solar cells could operate for over a decade in the moon’s “harsh” environment. (Engadget, Feb. 13, 2023)

Bezos and Elon Musk are also rivals in their long-term goals to send their rocket ships to Mars. In early 2023, Bezos’ untested rocket ship New Glenn landed a launch contract with NASA for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE) mission to study Mars’ magnetosphere. (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Feb. 9, 2023) The moon will become the launching pad for these ventures.

In all the hype about Artemis, major capitalist news media emphasize the wonders of U.S. space feats and scientific research, along with wide-eyed plans to travel to Mars, only mentioning helium mining in passing. Musk — the notorious owner of Tesla and X and briefly President Trump’s closest advisor — infamously advocates detonating atomic bombs over Mars’ polar regions to make it more livable! (Space, Aug. 17, 2019) His SpaceX super rocket was originally designed for colonization of Mars, where, he envisions, a self-sustaining colony could escape the possible demise of humanity on Earth.

It is possible that Trump’s decision to deeply cut Artemis funding from NASA’s budget as part of his “One Big Beautiful Bill” was influenced by Musk’s focus on Mars. But even the Republican-dominated U.S. Congress could not fall into line with Trump on this issue.

While not explicitly stating that they were afraid to lose future control of the hugely profitable helium-3 mining, they succeeded in restoring some of the funding for Artemis. The NASA funding amendment to the bill was written by Texas Senator Ted Cruz. According to Cruz’s Senate committee, the amendment “dedicates almost $10 billion to win the new space race with China and ensure America dominates space [and] makes targeted, critical investments in Mars-forward technology, Artemis missions, the Moon to Mars program and the International Space Station.” (Yellowhammer News, June 9, 2025)

Panic ensued after the passage of the bill. In an opinion piece published by Scientific American, Matthew Beddingfield writes: “This conflict and dizzying back and forth regarding America’s moonshot project suggests a question: Are we committed to Artemis and the broader goal of understanding space? Or to put it another way: Do we want to win this new race to the moon? The current administration owes us an answer.” (Scientific American, Aug. 2, 2025)

While corporations scheme to gain riches, the Pentagon’s militarization of space is intensifying to protect capitalist interests and uphold U.S. domination, as discussed in the Workers World article “Astronomical imperialism!” (Oct. 1, 2019) That year, the U.S. Department of Defense established a sixth branch of the military, the U.S. Space Force.

The establishment of the Space Force sent a clear warning to Russia, China, Iran and any other countries that the U.S. views as global competitors, informing them that the imperialist U.S. is staking its claim to supremacy over space technology — and over outer space itself.

Billions of taxpayers’ dollars, sorely needed for the health and welfare of human beings worldwide, are being funneled into these corporate or militarized space programs. As usual, as exciting and as visionary the exploration of space appears to be, capitalists manipulate scientific curiosity and discovery into profit-making ventures.

Janet Mayes is an amateur astronomer and the author of “Beyond the Horse’s Eye, a Fantasy Out of Time,” a science fiction novel about U.S. hegemony in space, under the pen name Janet Rose; a review is at https://wp.me/p4Yme1-2V0. She is also the web manager for the International Action Center website. A PowerPoint summary of her chapter “The race for moondust: U.S. imperialism vs. China,” in “China Changes Everything,” is at youtube.com/watch?v=Pc2oC80SpBc.