The U.S. and China share a common goal: building a human habitat at the lunar south pole. Both nations are locked in a race to land astronauts on the Moon and secure vital resources needed to establish a permanent base. Although the Moon is an unregulated frontier, a new report suggests that the U.S. should be prepared for a fight over control of lunar resources and territory.<\/p>\n
The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies recently published a paper<\/a> pushing for a military human spaceflight program that could eventually place active-duty U.S. Space Force (USSF) personnel on the Moon and on board orbital space stations for defensive operations against China\u2019s alleged military-focused space initiatives. The report signals a dark turn for the ongoing space race, suggesting that orbital warfare looms behind ongoing efforts to establish a permanent presence on the Moon.<\/p>\n Conflict of interest <\/p>\n The report, written by retired USSF Colonel Kyle Pumroy, warns of the threats that \u201cChina\u2019s military-led space habitation and lunar ambitions\u201d pose for U.S. national security. Pumroy argues that the U.S. human spaceflight and Moon programs \u201chave been marred by inconsistency in vision, policy, and funding, allowing China to gain steady ground over time.\u201d<\/p>\n China has shown significant progress with its human spaceflight program over the past few years. The Chinese Manned Space Agency (CMSA) completed the Tiangong space station<\/a> in October 2022 and has maintained a continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit since then.<\/p>\n The Shenzhou-23 spacecraft carried three astronauts to the space station on Sunday, with one crew member poised to spend a year on board Tiangong for the first time. The prolonged mission helps China prepare for a crewed landing on the Moon by 2030<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the present trajectory, China is poised to achieve positional advantage in setting norms, standards, and legal frameworks for lunar habitation and lunar economy,\u201d the paper reads.<\/p>\n Chinese officials have repeatedly stressed the peaceful use and joint exploration of the lunar surface. \u201cChina always upholds the principle of equality, mutual benefits, peaceful use and inclusive development in outer space cooperation with other countries,\u201d Guo Jiakun, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said<\/a> during a press conference last month.<\/p>\n The recent paper, however, cites China\u2019s \u201cconsistent use of belligerent force to assert territorial dominance\u201d as a cause for concern. Therefore, Pumroy argues that the USSF should begin developing a military human spaceflight program now so Guardians can eventually operate in space to defend U.S. interests.<\/p>\n Space troops <\/p>\n