The successful August test of China’s Lanyue lunar module sent shockwaves through the global space community. Prominent US space journalist Eric Berger reacted sharply, suggesting that China is on track to land astronauts on the Moon in the 2020s—potentially ahead of the United States. “At this point, it is hard to come to any other conclusion,” he remarked. A Chinese lunar program expert interviewed by Berger went even further, saying such a landing would expose America’s inability to repeat its achievements of 60 years ago. Congressional fears grow The issue soon reached Capitol Hill, where both congressmen and a former NASA administrator admitted that, under current conditions, the United States risks losing the new Moon race to China. Acting NASA chief Sean Duffy declared defiantly: “I’ll be damned if that happens. We will beat the Chinese to the Moon.” But observers note that Duffy is only a temporary appointee, and few other top officials share his confidence.