{"id":934,"date":"2026-02-17T08:13:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T06:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/?p=934"},"modified":"2025-12-23T13:19:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T11:19:04","slug":"space-isnt-all-about-the-race-rival-superpowers-must-work-together-for-a-better-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/?p=934","title":{"rendered":"Space isn\u2019t all about the \u201crace\u201d: rival superpowers must work together for a better future"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Art Cotterell<\/strong><\/p>\n

In recent years, a new \u201cspace race\u201d has intensified between the United States and China. But what is this latest \u201crace\u201d about, and are there pathways to common ground? History suggests these do exist. As a space governance specialist, I argue our future depends on it.<\/p>\n

The \u201crace\u201d to the Moon<\/h3>\n

Lunar missions have become synonymous with a \u201cspace race\u201d. During the Cold War, the US and Soviet Union\u2019s competition to achieve that first \u201cone small step\u201d on the Moon was a symbolic and strategic quest for political, technological, military and ideological dominance on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what is this latest \u201crace\u201d about, and are there pathways to common ground? History suggests these do exist.<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Geopolitical tensions are again moving off-Earth. The\u00a0US<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0China<\/a>\u00a0are leading separate missions which aim to return humans to the Moon. One goal is to further scientific research. But\u00a0space mining<\/a>\u00a0and economic expansionism are also driving these efforts.<\/p>\n

This new \u201crace\u201d may give rise to\u00a0new conflicts<\/a>, especially over prime\u00a0landing sites<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0valuable and scarce resources<\/a>\u00a0speculated to be located on the lunar south pole.<\/p>\n

Mining water ice could produce oxygen, drinking water and rocket fuel, all vital for sustaining lunar exploration and beyond. The Moon may also contain rare earth metals used in everyday electronics, and a rare non-radioactive isotope, helium-3, for nuclear power.<\/p>\n

Space mining could lead to a concerning\u00a0\u201clunar gold rush\u201d<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0trade war<\/a>\u00a0with nations and private actors in space. Resources mined off-Earth are predicted to be worth\u00a0trillions<\/a>\u00a0of dollars.<\/p>\n

The US has a\u00a0longer history<\/a>\u00a0of demonstrated spacefaring capabilities, investments, and partnerships. Yet China is catching up. While the US made its\u00a0first uncrewed landing<\/a>\u00a0on the lunar south pole this year, China has made several landings. In June this year, China\u2019s Chang\u2019e 6 mission returned with the first\u00a0rock and soil samples<\/a>\u00a0from this sought-after region of the Moon.<\/p>\n

How are nations working together on space?<\/h3>\n

Both superpowers have invited other nations to join them in realizing their lunar visions. Last week the\u00a0Dominican Republic became the 44th signatory<\/a>\u00a0to the US-led\u00a0Artemis Accords<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thirteen other nations<\/a>\u00a0are participating in the China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in collaboration with Russia. Senegal joined last month.<\/p>\n

With no membership overlap between the two initiatives, new\u00a0\u201cspace blocs\u201d<\/a>\u00a0are emerging, reflective of global power dynamics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re at a critical juncture. It\u2019s important the emergence of these new \u201cspace blocs\u201d doesn\u2019t escalate into a contest over whose space governance approach prevails.<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Artemis Accords and ILRS are currently not legally binding, but they will be influential in shaping space governance in the 21st century. This is because treaty-making in the United Nations\u2019 Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS, established in 1959)\u00a0hasn\u2019t kept pace<\/a>\u00a0with the latest developments and actors in space. Nor has space governance adequately engaged with growing\u00a0ethical questions<\/a>, including on\u00a0space colonization<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0light pollution caused by satellites<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re at a critical juncture. It\u2019s important the emergence of these new \u201cspace blocs\u201d doesn\u2019t escalate into a contest over whose space governance approach prevails. Not only could this increase the risk of conflict on the lunar surface itself, but it could even fuel\u00a0geopolitical instability<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0military competition<\/a>\u00a0on Earth.<\/p>\n

History shows we can work together<\/h3>\n

Space has fostered cooperation even between superpower rivals during tense geopolitical times. During the Cold War, the US and Soviet Union cooperated on space governance, laws, science and technologies. This built mutual trust and eased tensions.<\/p>\n

Within COPUOS, nations worked together to agree on what became the first of multiple foundational space law treaties, the\u00a0Outer Space Treaty<\/a>\u00a0in 1967. It\u00a0prohibits<\/a>\u00a0placing nuclear weapons in space and national appropriation claims over celestial bodies like the Moon.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0joint Moon landing<\/a>\u00a0never took place. But in 1975, Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft docked while in orbit. This marked the\u00a0first international human spaceflight partnership<\/a>, a historic feat made possible thanks to\u00a0technical cooperation and diplomacy<\/a>. COPUOS heralded this as inspiring ongoing cooperation.<\/p>\n

More recently, NASA\u2019s\u00a0International Space Station<\/a>\u00a0(ISS) has been an orbiting testament to coexistence. Astronauts from the US, Russia, and other partners have conducted\u00a0over 3,000 experiments<\/a>\u00a0in microgravity.<\/p>\n

At the recent\u00a0UN Summit of the Future<\/a>, video messages from the\u00a0ISS<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0China\u2019s Tiangong space station<\/a>\u00a0astronauts reaffirmed the importance of international cooperation and the peaceful uses of space.<\/p>\n

From rhetoric to practice<\/h3>\n

Humanity has much to lose if global superpowers don\u2019t\u00a0cooperate on space governance<\/a>. There is a real and growing risk of exporting and exacerbating our earthly conflicts in space. This will invariably increase tensions on Earth.<\/p>\n

The US and China need to explore opportunities to open dialogue between the Artemis Accords and ILRS. There are some similarities in their separate\u00a0planned activities<\/a>, governing\u00a0principles<\/a>, and\u00a0guidelines<\/a>\u00a0already.<\/p>\n

To make this happen, the US will need to\u00a0revisit the 2011 Wolf Amendment<\/a>, a law that restricts NASA from using its funding to cooperate with China without congressional approval. But China has no equivalent and recently expressed its\u00a0willingness to cooperate<\/a>, including sharing its rock and soil samples.<\/p>\n

Sharing\u00a0scientific information<\/a>\u00a0may help find initial common ground before further discussions on space governance. This could even move towards agreeing on landing sites or a\u00a0lunar time zone<\/a>. If a rescue mission is ever necessary on the Moon, having some compatible technology through interoperability would make it much easier.<\/p>\n

The US and China do actively engage in COPUOS, including in the\u00a0working group on space resources<\/a>. Yet treaty-making is often slow moving. This means greater opportunities for communication, consistency and certainty on space governance are imperative. This could even support multilateral efforts.<\/p>\n

Perhaps a joint lunar research mission between the US and China\u2014in the spirit of the Apollo-Soyuz docking\u2014can still happen in the future.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the world needs to see space not only in terms of a \u201crace\u201d. It\u2019s also an opportunity to improve international relations, benefiting our future humanity on Earth and, one day, beyond.<\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a>\u00a0under a Creative Commons license. Read the\u00a0original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Art Cotterell is a researcher, policy adviser, and lawyer. He joined the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) at the Australian National University (ANU) in late 2023 as a Research Associate, and is a Research Affiliate with the Australian Centre for Space Governance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Art Cotterell In recent years, a new \u201cspace race\u201d has intensified between the United States and China. But what is this latest \u201crace\u201d about, and are there pathways to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,40],"tags":[31,418,275,311],"class_list":["post-934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-opinions","category-space","tag-china","tag-race","tag-space","tag-usa"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SPACE-RACE.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=934"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2126,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934\/revisions\/2126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}