Category: Space

NASA has tightened restrictions on Chinese nationals working under US visas, cutting off access to its projects, facilities, and data systems as of September 5, Bloomberg reported. The change affects graduate students, contractors, and researchers at American universities who had previously been able to contribute to agency work.

Officials say the decision is aimed at strengthening security, but it underscores the growing competition between the United States and China in space.

Bethany Stevens, a NASA spokesperson, confirmed the shift, explaining that it extends existing rules to cover physical and cybersecurity protections. While US law has long blocked the agency from hiring Chinese citizens directly, this move applies to visa holders who are not formally tied to the Chinese government.

The timing reflects wider tensions between Washington and Beijing. Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy has described the rivalry as a “second space race,” warning that the US must not fall behind China’s rapidly advancing space program.

His remarks recall the Wolf Amendment, passed in 2011, which prohibits bilateral cooperation between NASA and Chinese entities without congressional approval. That measure was intended to prevent technology transfer and address human rights concerns, but it also pushed China to develop its own space program independently.

Since then, China has made major gains. Its Tiangong space station has been continuously crewed, and its Chang’e missions have returned samples from the Moon, including material from the far side in 2024. The country plans to send astronauts to the lunar surface by 2030 while also preparing a robotic Mars sample return for 2028. Both could rival or outpace NASA’s own goals.

By comparison, NASA’s Artemis program has faced delays and rising costs. The uncrewed Artemis I test launched in 2022, but the first crewed lunar mission, Artemis II, is now scheduled for 2026. Artemis III, targeting a landing at the Moon’s south pole, is unlikely before 2027.

The new restrictions may also affect international scientific collaboration. Areas such as planetary science and astrophysics often rely on open data sharing across borders. US researchers have previously worked with Chinese samples, including those from the Chang’e-5 mission, after clearance procedures.

Stricter barriers risk limiting such cooperation, and critics argue that excluding Chinese scientists weakens the overall pace of discovery.

Opponents of the Wolf Amendment say it has had the opposite effect of what was intended, driving China to operate entirely on its own. They warn that nationality-based restrictions in space science could leave gaps in global monitoring, such as asteroid tracking, which depends on contributions from multiple nations.

The decision also comes as US space policy shifts under broader political debates. Proposals under former president Donald Trump targeted cuts to Earth science programs, including climate monitoring satellites, in favor of deep-space exploration. Budget uncertainties have also placed projects like the joint US-European Mars Sample Return mission under review.

For now, NASA continues to work with Europe, Japan, and Canada on Artemis, while keeping China at arm’s length. Officials argue that tighter controls are needed to safeguard US leadership in space, but critics point out that long-term progress could benefit more from cooperation. With China pressing ahead on plans for reusable rockets and a lunar base, the divide between the two powers shows little sign of narrowing.

NASA has announced the four volunteers who will spend more than a year inside a Mars simulation habitat in Houston. Starting October 19, 2025, the group will live for 378 days in Mars Dune Alpha, a 1,700-square-foot 3D-printed structure at Johnson Space Center. The mission, known as CHAPEA, is designed to mimic the isolation, resource limits, and daily challenges astronauts will face on future missions to Mars.

The habitat will test how humans handle long-duration stays in confined conditions. Crew members will face restricted supplies, equipment failures, and communication delays of up to 20 minutes each way. NASA will track how they respond mentally and physically while living in a Mars-like setting.

The volunteers will perform tasks similar to what astronauts would do on Mars. They will conduct simulated spacewalks in a sand-filled outdoor area built to resemble Martian terrain. The team will also grow crops, operate robots, and maintain systems for water and medical support. These activities help NASA measure how well humans can manage life support and science duties far from Earth.

The crew includes four primary members. Commander Ross Elder is an Air Force test pilot with combat flying experience in jets such as the F-35. He also has training in artificial intelligence and engineering. Medical officer Ellen Ellis, a Space Force colonel, has managed satellite programs and studied disaster response.

Science officer Matthew Montgomery, an engineer, works with robotics and agricultural systems for private companies. Flight engineer James Spicer has aerospace industry experience building spacecraft and satellite networks.

Two alternates are on standby in case of crew changes. Marine pilot Emily Phillips, trained in computer science, has flown F/A-18 Hornets. UK-based pilot Laura Marie has logged more than 2,800 flight hours and works as a mentor for new aviators.

Mars Dune Alpha’s design reflects the harsh environment astronauts would encounter on Mars, where temperatures plunge to -80°F, radiation levels are high, and the atmosphere lacks oxygen. By recreating these challenges on Earth, NASA can better prepare for human missions that could begin in the 2030s. The agency has previously tested similar concepts in Hawaii at the HI-SEAS habitat.

The first CHAPEA mission ended in July 2024, providing data on sleep, diet, and teamwork under stress. The second mission will expand that research by monitoring muscle and bone changes in simulated low-gravity conditions. The findings will inform the design of spacesuits, habitats, and medical protocols for future crews.

NASA says testing on Earth reduces the risk of surprises once humans land on Mars. With rovers already confirming the presence of water ice and searching for past signs of life, preparing astronauts for the physical and psychological demands of a Mars stay is a key step toward making such missions possible.

Scientists have found that a rare bacterium, Tersicoccus phoenicis, can survive inside NASA’s spacecraft assembly clean rooms by entering a dormant state, raising questions about how well current sterilization methods protect missions to Mars, Europa, and beyond.

The discovery comes from new research led by the University of Houston, which studied how the microbe withstands environments designed to be nearly lifeless.

Clean rooms are essential for building spacecraft that search for signs of life. NASA enforces strict planetary protection rules to prevent Earth microbes from contaminating other worlds, a standard put in place after lessons from the Viking missions in the 1970s.

Workers disinfect surfaces with chemicals, UV light, and filtered air. Yet T. phoenicis has repeatedly been detected in these facilities, including at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and a launch site in French Guiana.

Unlike many tough bacteria, T. phoenicis does not form protective spores. Instead, it shuts down activity when nutrients run out, staying alive but almost impossible to grow under normal lab conditions. In experiments, researchers starved the bacterium in nutrient-poor solutions.

Within days, the number of colonies visible on plates dropped by more than seven orders of magnitude, but cell numbers stayed the same under a microscope, proving the microbes had entered dormancy rather than died. To simulate the dry surfaces of clean rooms, the team also dehydrated the cells. After two days without water, few could grow back on their own.

However, when researchers added a protein known as resuscitation-promoting factor, borrowed from a related bacterium, the dormant microbes “woke up” faster and resumed growth. This protein shortened recovery times from more than 50 hours to about 31 in some cases.

The study also noted that T. phoenicis carries stress-related genes similar to those seen in pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is known for lying dormant inside the human body. In laboratory tests, the bacteria tended to clump together during dormancy, creating unusual stop-and-start growth patterns until the added protein restored normal behavior.

Researchers warn that standard checks, which rely heavily on spore counts and DNA testing, may overlook these hard-to-detect dormant cells. If such microbes survive sterilization and ride along on spacecraft, they could complicate life-detection experiments or even seed new environments with Earth organisms.

Beyond space science, the findings may also apply to medicine and food safety. Many bacteria survive harsh conditions, antibiotics, or disinfectants by entering a similar dormant state. Better understanding this process could improve sterilization practices in hospitals and factories.

The team plans further tests on other microbes that persist in clean rooms. With Mars sample return projects and human missions under development, scientists say detecting and managing these hidden survivors will be more important than ever.

Source: Tersicoccus phoenicis (Actinobacteria), a spacecraft clean room isolate, exhibits dormancy