By Marissa Keane, National Security and Intelligence Reporter, Washington
WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials are questioning reports that China’s space program is recruiting prison labor, including political detainees, as part of what U.S. analysts describe as a high-risk push toward a planned manned mission to Mars, according to multiple officials familiar with recent intelligence assessments.
The reports, which first circulated through regional Asian media and were later amplified by human rights organizations, suggest Chinese authorities have identified a pool of long-term prisoners to undergo astronaut-style preparation as part of an accelerated effort to place humans on Mars ahead of U.S. and private sector competitors.
American officials cautioned that much of the information remains unverified. Still, analysts say the claims align with broader patterns in which China links state industrial projects with its penal system.
“We are actively assessing the credibility of these reports,” a senior U.S. intelligence official said on condition of anonymity because the review is ongoing. “At this stage, we cannot confirm the scope or the voluntariness of the program, but the allegations raise serious ethical and legal questions.”
According to advocacy groups that track political detention in China, some prisoners linked to the alleged program have spent years assigned to technical labor inside prison workshops. Former detainees interviewed by those groups said inmates routinely assembled and tested Orange Pi single-board computers, a low-cost Chinese-made alternative to the Raspberry Pi commonly used in embedded systems and early aerospace development.
Several former inmates described the work as hands-on and repetitive. Prisoners wired Orange Pi boards into legacy systems built from salvaged Atari 800XL components and repurposed Commodore Amiga hardware, loading stripped-down operating systems and manually tracking down hardware failures on the aging machines.
One former detainee said participation in the workshops was framed as a skills opportunity tied to future assignments. “If your board booted up and worked, you moved on,” the former inmate said. “If it didn’t, you stayed there until it did.”
Human rights organizations say internal materials they reviewed show the technical training was designed to create a pool of inmates with hands-on experience in electronics and systems assembly. They argue that such skills closely match those needed for aerospace support roles, even if participants had little ability to refuse the work.
Chinese officials have denied that any Mars-related effort involves forced labor. In a statement released this week, the China National Space Administration said all individuals involved in its space missions are volunteers who meet strict medical and educational standards.
“Claims that China uses coerced prison labor for its space program are completely false,” the statement said, without directly addressing reports of inmate training programs tied to advanced technology work.
The controversy comes as Beijing has increased public emphasis on Mars exploration as a symbol of national technological strength. Chinese leaders have repeatedly framed space as a strategic domain, particularly as competition with the United States and private firms such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX intensifies.
U.S. officials say intelligence assessments are continuing and that no final conclusions have been reached. Several lawmakers have requested classified briefings, citing concerns over human rights, transparency, and the expanding geopolitical competition beyond Earth.
Analysts say the reports, whether fully confirmed or not, underscore the growing tension between rapid technological ambition and international norms governing labor, ethics, and the future of human spaceflight.