Inside the biggest battle for cislunar space area between Earth and the moon ... trends now
Space is about to get crowded with up to 100 lunar missions set to be launched within the next decade.
Far from being empty blackness, space looks to become busier than ever, surpassing the level of interest in the Moon since the Cold War space race of the 1950s and 60s.
Several nations and private companies are planning missions to the Moon with experts predicting the area between Earth and the moon, specifically known as cislunar space, could become strategically important.
There is also concern that as the area becomes busier it could potentially lead to greater competition over resources and positioning, as well as geopolitical conflicts.
Space is about to get crowded with up to 100 lunar missions set to be launched within the next decade. Above, the companies who are planning to take part -
NASA's Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with the Orion capsule attached, launches at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in November. The Artemis I mission will send the uncrewed spacecraft around the moon to test the vehicle's propulsion, navigation and power systems as a precursor to later crewed mission to the lunar surface
Both the US and China have ambitious lunar exploration programs in the works, with plans to land astronauts on the moon and build habitats and infrastructure in orbit.
'We're already seeing this competing rhetoric between the U.S. government and the Chinese government,' said Laura Forczyk, executive director of Astralytical, a space consulting firm based in Atlanta told NBC.
'The U.S. is pointing to China and saying, "We need to fund our space initiatives to the moon and cislunar space because China is trying to get there and claim territory." And then Chinese politicians are saying the same thing about the United States.'
Other countries, such as South Korea, the UAE, India, and Russia also have planned robotic missions to the Moon while private companies in the U.S., Japan and Israel are also racing to the moon.
Even private firms, such as SpaceX, have plans for lunar endeavors, including launching a private crew on a tourism flight in lunar orbit.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft is seen at sunset on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A in Cape Canaveral, in December 2021
While increased access to space brings many benefits, it also raises the potential for tensions over competing interests which could have significant economic and political consequences.
'During the Cold War, the space race was for national prestige and power,' said Kaitlyn Johnson, deputy director and fellow of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies to NBC News. 'Now, we have a better understanding of the kind of benefits that operating in cislunar space can bring countries back home.'
Cislunar space generally refers to the area between Earth and the Moon, including the moon's surface and
