The outer space is now becoming an extension of Earth's geography, and more countries aspire to become spacefaring nations. In the recent years, more competition and cooperation have been demonstrated by the superpowers. Part of this rivalry in reaching celestial bodies is the competition for access to astronomical resources.
New Space Race
In his meeting with Spain's Minister of Science Diana Morant and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, NASA chief Bill Nelson expressed his concerns surrounding the US-China competition in reaching the Moon. Nelson is worried that China could reach the Moon and claim territory to prevent others from accessing it. He connects it with the actions made by China in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. According to Nelson, he wants to prevent the same thing from happening in the Moon waters.
China has been progressing in the space race as it aims to be the largest space power in the world by year 2045. Amidst the rivalry with U.S. in reaching new milestones in space, China announced its plan to land astronauts on Moon before 2030. The U.S. also aims to send a crew in 2025 or 2026 which will include a woman and a Black astronaut.
Nelson is confident that the U.S. will get to the Moon first, but he worries that both nations are going to land at the South Pole where water might be present. The U.S. plans to send a robotic instrument to the Moon's South Pole this year and another instrument that will dig water next year.
Experts are confident about the presence of water in Moon due to the observable ice in rock crevices. Reaching this area means the potential to access oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for rocket fuel. Nelson wants to secure potential resources for the international community and prevent China from claiming Moon water as their own.
Six nations are actually planning to send spacecraft to the Moon: China, Korea, India, U.S., Europe, and Russia. Just like the space race that took place in the 1970s, the participating countries seek to demonstrate their technological advances to explore the mineral reserved in Moon. Then, this celestial body will be made into an intermediate station in reaching Mars as the ultimate target.
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The Need for International Treaty for Space Missions
Due to the conflicts that arise from space missions, there is a need to establish a set of universal rules to regulate the competition. Otherwise, some of the human activities in space could spark disagreements on an astronomical level.
Nelson traveled to Spain since the country is the 25th signatory of the Artemis Accords. It serves as the political framework for cooperation during the exploration of the Moon and other heavenly bodies in the years to come. In order to enhance peaceful relationships between nations, the international cooperation requires the partner nations to publicly describe their own policies and plans with transparency.
In extracting and utilizing resources on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids, the Artemis Accord also emphasizes that these must be done under the regulations of the Outer Space Treaty. Aside from this, Artemis Accord partners are also encouraged to provide public information about the location and general nature of their space operations.
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