Experts Eye Opportunities To Avoid Lunar Disputes

Students watch a televised lecture by the three astronauts on the Chinese space station Tiangong in a school in Zhangye in northwest China's Gansu province Wednesday, March 23, 2022. US and China in an effort to secure territory and resources on the Moon.  XUE LEI/FUTURE PUBLISHING via GETTYIMAGES

In a recent interview with Politico, NASA administrator Bill Nelson described the realities of a resurgent space race that pits the USA and China against one another in an effort to secure territory and resources on the Moon. While other experts have downplayed the chance of a lunar conflict the underlying issues remain very real.

NASA’s Orion Capsule is drawn to the well deck of the U.S.S. Portland after it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, following a successful uncrewed Artemis I Moon Mission on December 11, 2022.  NASA is planning several missions to the moon in the next decade. MARIO TAMA/GETTYIMAGES