The moon is an excellent place to influence or even dominate Earth; however, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits military activities on celestial bodies.
Inputs that matter: Geopolitical Futures explains, "He who controls the moon controls Earth."
- "Given current technologies, the relative distance between Portugal and Brazil and between the moon and Portugal is not wildly different."
- This week, the White House officially tasked NASA with establishing a time standard for the moon, Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC), in the Office of the President's memorandum. This standard will allow international bodies to coordinate their activities on the lunar surface.
- The New York Times reports that The United States and China are locked in a new race over Global positioning satellites that serve as clocks in the sky.
The opportunity: The United States, Russia, and over 100 other states are parties to the Outer Space Treaty (OST), which remains in force and can be understood as a de facto constitution for space operations.
- However, it only applies to countries and not private companies.
- As a result, the United States may be legally liable for the activities of services such as Starlink, a U.S. commercial satellite operated by SpaceX.
Zoom in: The 1967 OST bans the stationing of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in outer space, prohibits military activities on celestial bodies, and details legally binding rules governing the peaceful exploration and use of space, including:
- Space and celestial bodies are exempt from national claims of ownership.
- Countries exploring space are responsible and liable for any damage their activities may cause.
- Countries may not place in orbit around the Earth or other celestial bodies any nuclear weapons or objects carrying WMD.
- Neither can they install WMD on celestial bodies or station WMD in outer space in any other manner.
Between the lines: On March 8, a small, cylinder-shaped object fell from the skies and crashed through the roof of a family home in Naples, Florida.
- As the 1967 OST dictates, space objects' ownership does not change regardless of whether they are in outer space or on Earth.
- Founded by ex-government official Nobu Okada, Astroscale has won government backing in Japan, the U.S., and Britain as it develops technology to remove orbital junk, such as disused satellites and spent rockets, that is seen as a collision risk.
Follow the money: According to Responsible Statecraft, "Elon Musk's space company SpaceX recently secured a classified contract to build an extensive network of"spy satellites" for an undisclosed U.S. intelligence agency, with one source telling Reuters that "no one can hide" under the prospective network's reach."
- Almost 60 years later, the OST's vague language regarding military limitations in space, as space policy expert Michelle L.D. Hanlon and Greg Autry highlight, "leave more than enough room for interpretation to result in conflict."
- 2019, the Pentagon created the Space Force, an entirely new military branch "focused solely on pursuing superiority in the space domain."
- DefenseNews reports, "Russia, China, India, and the United States have tested anti-satellite missiles, and several major world powers have developed technology meant to disrupt signals in space."
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Read More
- https://geopoliticalfutures.com/geopolitics-and-the-moon/
- https://responsiblestatecraft.org/u-s-space-race/
- https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68722032
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-moon-will-get-its-own-time-zone-called-coordinated-lunar-time-under-nasas-lead-180984076/
- https://gizmodo.com/space-junk-florida-iss-damage-protocols-liability-1851385397
- https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/japan-space-startup-astroscale-aims-june-listing-sources-say-2024-04-05/
- https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/outerspace
- https://spectrum.ieee.org/device-that-revolutionized-timekeeping-receives-an-ieee-milestone
- https://www.justsecurity.org/86823/the-outer-space-treaty-and-promoting-responsible-use-of-space
- https://banananomics.co/weaponizing_space