In 2011, Congress effectively banned the U.S. from working with China in space. The law is called the Wolf Amendment. Its goal was to prevent China and Chinese companies from stealing U.S. technology and also to put pressure on China over human rights abuses.

But today, the dynamics in space are changing. The International Space Station is set to retire in 2030. Meanwhile China’s space station, Tiangong, was just completed at the end of 2022. Both countries have plans to establish a presence on the same part of the moon in the next decade.

WSJ explains why that law was created and why whether it has hurt or helped the U.S. is a big debate in the space community.

Illustration: Madeline Marshall

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