Why are major countries racing to explore the Moon?

Speaking at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 8, Bill Nelson expressed concern that China could seize the south pole of the Moon if Beijing astronauts get there first. “Of course, I don’t want China to send people to the south pole first and then claim it as their territory.”

Race for the Moon's South Pole

According to Mr. Nelson, the US and China are racing to see who will be the first to reach the frozen water area trapped at the south pole of the Moon.

“We need to protect the interests of the international community. If we find an abundance of water that could be used for future crews and spacecraft, we want to make sure that water is available to everyone, not just the person who claims to have it,” Nelson added.

Many countries are aiming for the Moon's south pole. (Photo: Getty)

Potential landing sites and resource use at the Moon’s south pole may be limited, as satellite imagery shows a landscape very different from the area chosen for previous missions.

“The pictures of the south pole are nothing like what we saw where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed. The south pole of the moon is full of deep craters. Because of the angle of the sun, most of those craters are completely in shadow, which significantly reduces the area of land,” said Nelson.

But space policy expert Brian Weeden, director of program planning at the Secure World Foundation, a think tank, said the US and China “don’t have to compete.” “It’s not a race, because it’s not just the US and China that are going to the Moon, there are a lot of countries that are going there for different reasons.”

The Moon’s south pole is vast, with enough space for multiple teams to explore. He dismissed NASA’s director’s suggestion that whoever gets there first “wins” the race, saying “no matter who gets to the Moon first, other countries will keep going.”

China has been developing launch vehicles and spacecraft with the goal of sending its astronauts to the Moon by 2030. The China-led International Lunar Research Station and the US Artemis program both aim to establish a permanent base with a human presence on the Moon's south polar region.

Russia - India launch spacecraft to land on the Moon

Meanwhile, Russia and India are competing to be the first nation to conduct a mission to search for signs of water on the Moon with a probe. Both Russia’s Luna 25 and India’s Chandrayaan 3 are scheduled to land on August 23.

Russia successfully launched a spacecraft to conquer the Moon after nearly 50 years. (Source: Roscomos)

On the morning of August 11, Moscow time, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos successfully launched the Luna-25 spacecraft, opening a new phase for Moscow's lunar exploration program. This is also Russia's first lunar mission in 47 years since 1976.

Luna-25 is scheduled to land on the Moon's south pole on August 21. The spacecraft will explore areas that humans have never been able to reach.

Despite Moscow’s successful launch, NASA’s chief dismissed Russia as a rival in the space race, questioning its readiness to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030.

NASA also outlined progress on the Artemis II mission, a four-person crew that will mark NASA’s first manned lunar trip. The mission is scheduled to launch in 2024. It will also be the second launch in the Artemis program, a multinational initiative to establish a “sustained human presence on the Moon.” NASA’s Apollo mission successfully landed on the Moon in 1972.

The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft on the launch pad in Florida during the Artemis I mission. (Photo: Getty)

A much more important question than the competition between nations to reach the Moon, according to Mr. Weeden, is whether they have the same interpretation of international law, because current space treaties often have very broad principles.

28 countries sign the Artemis Accords

The Artemis Accords were launched on October 13, 2020, with the aim of peaceful and cooperative use of space, with eight signatories: the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In November 2020, Ukraine joined the agreement. In May 2021, South Korea became the 10th member state. In June 2021, New Zealand and Brazil became the next two countries to sign the Artemis Accords.

So far, 28 countries have signed the US-led Artemis Accords.

China was not invited to participate in the cooperation because NASA is not allowed to sign any bilateral agreements with the country. Russia believes that the US-initiated agreement is "politicized" and "too US-centric".

Other countries such as Germany, France and India also rejected the treaties, believing that space resources should be off-limits to any nation's economic use.

China and Russia, as well as several other countries, have expressed concerns that the agreement could limit their activities on the Moon. While the treaty stipulates that no country can claim sovereignty over territories on the Moon, it does not specify how the principle of non-appropriation applies to space resources, such as the right to mine, own, and use lunar water ice.

In Mr. Weeden's view, the concept of a “race to the Moon” arose in part out of international concerns about China's rapid rise as a space power.

“For a long time, the US thought it was ahead of China in space technology. That is no longer true. The US comparative advantage is shrinking and people are worried that one day it could be reduced to zero,” he said.

There are also concerns that China is using its space capabilities as a form of “soft power” to influence other countries and build global influence, as demonstrated by Beijing’s repeated invitations to partners to conduct scientific research and sending its astronauts on missions to the Tiangong space station.

Phuong Thao (Source: SCMP)

Useful
Emotion
Creative
Unique
Wrath