NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman yesterday cautioned that the race to the Moon has evolved beyond national prestige into a high-stakes competition over lunar territory and scarce resources. Comparing the Moon’s vastness to Africa but the resource-rich south pole to Washington, D.C., Isaacman highlighted that prime landing zones with accessible water ice and solar exposure are severely limited. Technical studies and safety protocols require wide 1-to-5 kilometer exclusion perimeters around landing craft, meaning whoever establishes a presence first could effectively deny access to neighboring rivals. Isaacman argued that beating China to the lunar surface is critical to defining the operational, commercial, and legal standards that allied and non-aligned spacefaring nations will follow.

Full report : NASA chief warns China could lock down lunar south pole access.