NASA bans Chinese citizens from its facilities or operations
Earlier this week NASA moved to block Chinese citizens with visas from having access to its facilities as well as its entire operations, citing security concerns.
“NASA has taken internal action pertaining to Chinese nationals, including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities, materials and network to ensure the security of our work,” NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens said on Wednesday. According to Bloomberg, Chinese nationals had previously been allowed to work as contractors or students contributing to research, although not as staff.
But on 5 September several individuals told the outlet they were suddenly locked out of IT systems and barred from in-person meetings. They spoke on condition of anonymity.
Though both the Chinese press and the leftist news outlet above (The Guardian) whine about this move, it makes great sense, and should have been done years ago. Though I am sure most of these Chinese citizens are not spies, China’s policy has been to consistently use such citizens for spying, and letting such people into NASA operations makes no sense.
Moreover, shouldn’t NASA be hiring Americans first and foremost?
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Earlier this week NASA moved to block Chinese citizens with visas from having access to its facilities as well as its entire operations, citing security concerns.
“NASA has taken internal action pertaining to Chinese nationals, including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities, materials and network to ensure the security of our work,” NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens said on Wednesday. According to Bloomberg, Chinese nationals had previously been allowed to work as contractors or students contributing to research, although not as staff.
But on 5 September several individuals told the outlet they were suddenly locked out of IT systems and barred from in-person meetings. They spoke on condition of anonymity.
Though both the Chinese press and the leftist news outlet above (The Guardian) whine about this move, it makes great sense, and should have been done years ago. Though I am sure most of these Chinese citizens are not spies, China’s policy has been to consistently use such citizens for spying, and letting such people into NASA operations makes no sense.
Moreover, shouldn’t NASA be hiring Americans first and foremost?
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
“ Chinese nationals had previously been allowed to work as contractors or students contributing to research”
Silly
The CCP does not hesitate to threaten the safety of family members in China, in order to coerce nefarious behavior from Chinese here perfectly legally.
Well, there goes Chinese R&D.
Ray Van Dune has it right, every student on condition of their visa must participate in Spying, should the CCP government ask, they must provide everything they’ve learned or have access to. The penalty of non-compliance is severe for them or their family. (do the Chinese have their own police force in New York still?)
https://dallasexpress.com/opinion/opinion-mandatory-espionage-it-is-time-to-pause-chinese-student-visas/
Quote from the link;
“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) subjects its citizens, wherever they reside, to the sweeping dictates of the 2017 National Intelligence Law. Most notably, Article 7 of that law mandates that all Chinese citizens and organizations must, upon request, support and cooperate with state intelligence work. There are no geographic exceptions. There are no due process requirements. And there is no meaningful ability for a citizen, once contacted by the state, to say “no.”
Now consider the implications. A Chinese graduate student in physics at MIT is, under this law, legally obligated to assist Beijing’s Ministry of State Security should it come calling. He may be compelled to pass along blueprints, forward emails, document conversations, or surveil colleagues. Failure to comply is not a personal choice, it is a criminal offense under Chinese law. And compliance is expected regardless of whether the student resides in Shanghai or San Francisco. Thus, the presence of Chinese nationals on American campuses is not merely a matter of educational exchange. It is, by virtue of Chinese law, a latent national security vulnerability.“
It’s a bit late now
It is more than a bit late now. But better late than never.
“””Moreover, shouldn’t NASA be hiring Americans first and foremost?””””
If qualified Americans are available and willing. And if the positions in question are actually all that intel critical in the first place. How much cutting edge are these Chinese nationals witnessing at NASA compared to the commercial companies that seem to be leading the pack here?
The Chinese don’t just imitate—they innovate as well
In a significant advance, a team led by physicists at WashU has created quantum sensors in an unbreakable sheet of crystallized boron nitride. The sensors can measure stress and magnetism in materials under pressure that exceeds 30,000 times the pressure of the atmosphere.
“We’re the first ones to develop this sort of high-pressure sensor,” said Chong Zu, an assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences and a member of Washington University in St. Louis’ Center for Quantum Leaps. “It could have a wide range of applications in fields ranging from quantum technology, material science, to astronomy and geology.”
The team described their findings in the journal Nature Communications.
https://phys.org/news/2025-09-quantum-sensors-extreme-pressure.html
I was hoping it would be the United State that developed Borazon further.
As above says, this should have been done years ago.