Japan’s space agency is landing its first lunar probe this week. This makes the Moon an increasingly busy target for spacefaring nations – with conflicting political stances among them.
Treaties meant to ensure sustainability in space don’t currently regulate private companies, and not every country has signed on to an agreement for sustainable space exploration.
With commercial space tourism on the rise and NASA planning to return to the Moon, you might think the US space economy is booming – but the data paint a more complex picture.
While a return to the Moon will allow the U.S. to collaborate with other nations interested in space, this endeavor is also complicated by geopolitical tensions.
David Baratoux, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD); Aziz Diaby Kassamba, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Cocody, Côte-d'Ivoire; Marc Harris Yao Fortune, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Cocody, Côte-d'Ivoire; Marie Korsaga, Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo, dan Pancrace Aka, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Cocody, Côte-d'Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire’s nanosatellite is the first step towards applications that monitor environmental harm and illegal activities and assist in planning for development.
China has invested massively in its space capabilities in recent years and is now a major competitor with the US. But according to a space policy expert, the US still dominates space by most measures.
The Artemis II mission is scheduled for launch in late 2024 and is a critical step towards NASA’s goals of establishing a permanent human presence on and near the Moon.
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.
Canadian space technologies and innovations play a significant role in the Artemis missions, and our involvement reflects our growing role in this new era of lunar exploration.
China has completed construction of the Tiangong space station, and science projects are now underway. The station is an important piece of China’s ambitious plans for space activity in coming years.
The era of lunar resource use is quickly approaching. But with legal and practical issues still looming, nations are starting to think about sustainable ways to mine and protect the Moon.
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.
In the past 10 years, international alliances on Earth have begun to expand into space. Nations with similar interests collaborate with one another while competing with other space blocs.
Space mining might be closer than you think. But legal issues about the ownership of space resources must be urgently addressed to avoid space wars over natural resources.
Humans have been living on the International Space Station for two full decades. So what comes next for this ailing technology, and what does it mean for future International ventures in space?