A US-led coalition and China are both planning to establish bases on the Moon. How the two nations will navigate actions on the Moon and how other countries will be involved is still unclear.
An elaborate scheme to shade Earth with millions of tonnes of Moon dust floating in space is unlikely to get off the ground.
China and the U.S. both have big plans for the Moon, but there are a number of reasons why no country could actually claim ownership of any land there.
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A comment by Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator, sparked a strong public response from the Chinese government. But due to legal and practical reasons, no country could take over the Moon anytime soon.
There is a U.S. flag on the Moon, but in the future, countries may start to turn access to the Moon and asteroids into serious wealth.
NASA/Neil A. Armstrong
Current trends suggest that powerful nations are defining the rules of resource use in space and satellite access in ways that will make it hard for developing nations to ever catch up.
Russia threatened to withdraw from the International Space Station over sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
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Listen to two space experts discuss how the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens international collaboration in space on The Conversation Weekly podcast.
The International Space Station is a great example of how space has, for the most part, been a peaceful and collaborative international arena.
NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center/Flickr
Activities in space today are far more numerous and complicated compared to 1967, before humans had landed on the moon or Elon Musk had been born. Two experts explain the need for better laws to keep space peaceful.
Space debris produced by anti-satellite weapons can have dangerous consequences.
(Shutterstock)
Russia’s testing of an anti-satellite weapon risked the life of astronauts on the International Space Station and could have astronomical impacts on Earth.
Sure, they’re billionaires, but the exploits of Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have undeniably brought space tourism a step closer. That raises tricky legal, ethical and environmental questions.
It’s unlikely falling space junk will destroy property or kill a person.
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Chances are small that space junk will destroy property or harm a person, and existing space law could deal with such an event. But current law doesn’t address the bigger problem of space pollution.
A change of government in the USA means less risk of ‘space war’ and more hope for peaceful cooperation.
Illustration of a future Moon base by the European Space Agency, which hasn’t signed the Artemis Accords.
ESA; RegoLight, visualisation: Liquifer Systems Group, 2018
Governments and corporations must get serious about the legal, technical, economic, social and ethical implications of a potential space-based resource economy.