(VIDEO) US in Space-Race Against China to Mine the Moon
As the final frontier becomes an ever increasingly accessible new resource, US officials have insisted that the US should be quick to make use of the moon’s valuable sources of rare minerals but that new laws might be needed to protect space.
The moon is rich in rare earth elements which are used in smartphones, computers and in the production of clean energy related products like wind turbines and EV batteries, so it’s no wonder that countries are eager to reap its potentials.
While no country can officially lay claim to any part of space, including the moon, US officials say that it will be vital to set up a lunar mining base in the near future before China beats them to the post.
So far, the US has achieved six successful moon-landing missions including the first in the world’s history in 1969. China’s space history is far shorter, but the Eastern superpower has successfully landed five robotic probes since 2007 on the moon, the most recent in December 2020.
Next year, Beijing plans to collect samples from the far side of the moon – a fete no lunar mission has yet accomplished.
Senior defence intelligence analyst for space and counterspace at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) Michael Usowski told Fox that the US must step up the space race pace:
‘’If we want to maintain our lead, then we need to continue to invest and ensure that we’re the ones setting the pace and not another entity.
‘’We see China keeping their foot on the accelerator’’.
In 2015, then-president Donald Trump installed US laws to encourage private companies to consider setting up space mining programs to take advantage of the potentially huge commercial and humanitarian benefits.
But lawmakers say that new international rules could be necessary to ensure that everyone knows where they stand in such an unprecedented territory:
‘’We need some updated space law for sure. As space becomes not only available for mining, but it’s really becoming a warfighting domain as well,’’ warned US Senator Kevin Cramer.
Usowski also voiced his concerns about the lack of space legislation, describing the current international law as being ‘’opaque as far as what and when it comes to mineral extraction, whether or not there are any prohibitions against actually taking minerals away from the moon or another celestial body and then bringing them back to the earth’’.
While both the US and China have collected numerous samples from the moon, experts say that to study the makeup of the celestial body in detail, scientists will need a base on the moon’s surface:
“One of the things we’ll do first when we establish a lunar base, whether it’s us or the Chinese, is really assess what’s there,” said Defense Intelligence Agency’s chief of the Office of Space and Counterspace, John Huth.
‘’We’ve done that remote sensing part. We’ve brought materials back from the moon, as have the Chinese. So, one of the first things is trying to build a self-sustainable lunar base. And then understand better really what those minerals, what those other things are that are available that either could be used on the moon or brought back in some way to the Earth to be used more effectively.”
