【By Observer Net, Qi Qian】

Because of repeated setbacks in the lunar landing program, the U.S. space industry is anxious and fears falling behind China, with internal conflicts intensifying recently.

This week, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, and Sean Duffy, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and acting NASA Administrator, engaged in a series of verbal battles, even resorting to personal attacks.

According to a report by The New York Times on October 23, the cause of the conflict between the two was that Duffy announced that NASA would reopen the bidding process for the next lunar mission "Artemis III." Currently, this contract is held by SpaceX, which is owned by Musk. The report stated that when his economic interests were affected, Musk launched a new attack on officials from the Trump administration.

On local time October 23, NASA issued a new response to Musk's attacks. Spokesperson Bethany Stevens said in a statement that Acting Director Duffy "has focused the agency on a clear goal - ensuring the United States returns to the moon before the Chinese."

Musk has not commented on the above response yet.

Elon Musk and Duffy, photo

Over the past few days, Musk has launched a series of insults against Duffy on social media, accusing him of lacking intelligence and putting astronauts in danger of death. He called Duffy "Sean Dummy" and raged that he was trying to "destroy" NASA.

"The IQ of the person responsible for the U.S. space program cannot be only two digits," Musk wrote in a post on October 21.

These posts were not enough; he also posted another question, asking, "Should a person proud of climbing trees manage the U.S. space program?" implying that Duffy had once participated in a logging competition.

US media pointed out that Musk has had multiple conflicts with government officials over the years, but this series of insults against Duffy is seen as another attempt to stir up conflicts with high-level government officials who are closely cooperating with SpaceX, and these remarks have caused strong reactions in the aerospace community.

The New York Times believes that Duffy's remarks the day before (October 20) seemed to anger Musk. At that time, he publicly criticized SpaceX for being behind schedule during an interview with Fox News, and claimed that the lunar contract competition would be opened to catch up with China's human return to the moon.

"SpaceX is a great company with remarkable achievements, but they have fallen behind the schedule," Duffy said on the show. He added that President Trump hoped to "defeat the Chinese" and achieve another lunar landing before the end of his term. He continued, "We will launch a space race, letting American companies compete to see who can take us back to the moon first."

Duffy publicly criticized SpaceX for slow progress, screenshot of video

Currently, Blue Origin (owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos), Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman are all supporting NASA's Artemis Program. According to a NASA spokesperson, these contracts will expire on October 29.

SpaceX is one of several contractors participating in NASA's Artemis Mission, which aims to achieve "the first long-term human presence on the Moon" and prepare for Mars exploration missions. In 2021, SpaceX won a $2.9 billion contract to provide the crew lunar landing system for the Artemis III mission.

According to the official timetable, the lunar mission is planned to send astronauts to the moon in 2027. However, SpaceX's giant lunar rocket "Starship" is still in its early stages, and since 2025, it has experienced three flight failures, completing only a few successful suborbital test flights.

In response to Duffy's criticism, Musk immediately retaliated, saying, "Compared to other companies, SpaceX is moving like lightning. 'Starship' will ultimately complete the entire lunar mission."

However, Duffy sarcastically responded on social media, saying, "I love this passion. Great companies should not fear challenges."

Duffy's response to Musk on social media, screenshot of tweet

Currently, SpaceX is facing major challenges in developing the lunar module, which is planned to be improved based on the "Starship" rocket and spacecraft system tested since 2023. It is reported that SpaceX engineers have made some progress on the "Starship" project, but the vehicle still needs to complete several key tests, such as large-scale orbital fuel transfer, before it can carry NASA astronauts.

Additionally, the Trump administration's "staff reduction" plan and the U.S. "government shutdown" have further hit the Artemis Program. It is estimated that 83% of NASA employees, including contractors, are currently forced to take leave.

The New York Times mentioned that NASA is crucial for Musk. As the Secretary of Transportation and acting NASA Administrator, Duffy controls the key areas of Musk's biggest investment, such as space technology, and the roads where Musk hopes his autonomous cars can be driven.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that Duffy is interested in "getting a permanent position" as NASA Administrator, and is currently competing with tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman for the NASA Administrator position.

Isaacman has close ties with Musk. As a key customer of SpaceX's emerging commercial space business, he has traveled to space twice in SpaceX's spacecraft and spent hundreds of millions of dollars on it.

After Trump returned to the White House, he originally nominated Isaacman as NASA Administrator, but later withdrew the nomination for Isaacman. In July this year, Trump appointed Sean Duffy, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, as the acting NASA Administrator. The report also cited sources who said that Duffy even intends to place NASA under the Department of Transportation.

Compared to the noise and chaos of the U.S. space program, China's lunar exploration program is progressing steadily and smoothly, with its manned lunar landing development advancing steadily. It has conducted multiple lunar orbiting detection and sample collection missions, laying the foundation for the first Chinese landing on the moon before 2030.

On April 23 this year, Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office and spokesperson for the China Manned Space Engineering, stated that the research and development work for China's manned lunar landing mission is proceeding smoothly. The Long March 10 carrier rocket, Mengzhou crewed spacecraft, Lanyue lunar lander, Wangyu lunar suit, and Zhantan lunar rover are all conducting preliminary prototype testing according to the plan. The lunar remote sensing satellite has completed the project establishment and competitive selection, and the ground system development and construction work for the launch site, tracking and communication, and landing site are proceeding in accordance with the plan.

Subsequently, in August and September, the Long March 10 series carrier rocket completed two tethered ignition tests at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, achieving important阶段性 breakthroughs.

Chen Zhongde, head of the China National Space Administration, previously stated that China's lunar exploration program has always adhered to the principles of equality, mutual benefit, peaceful use, and win-win cooperation, sharing development outcomes with the international community. China will continue to open up international applications for lunar research samples and look forward to global scientists gaining more scientific discoveries, jointly expanding human cognition and benefiting all humanity.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7564616366998471177/

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