NASA had planned to launch the Artemis I lunar mission on September 3, after a first attempt earlier in the week was canceled at the last minute due to an engine problem. The second launch was aborted due to a fuel leak.
But the mission is an exciting step towards returning humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972. But this time it’s not just about leaving our footprints in the lunar dust: it marks the start of a new space race for lunar resources This time, everyone wants to mine the moon.
back to the moon
Much of the Artemis program is noble and inspiring.
Artemis I is the program’s first mission, and will conduct a 42-day uncrewed test flight to orbit the Moon and return to Earth. The trip will use a new launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), which is the most powerful rocket currently in operation in the world.
On board will be three mannequins made of materials that reproduce male and female biology. NASA will use the mannequins to test the comfort and safety of the launch vehicle and space flight capsule for humans.
There are also many other experiments on board, and a number of small satellites will be launched to provide data as the capsule approaches the Moon.
Lessons from this mission will be applied to Artemis II, the planned 2024 mission that will see the first woman and first person of color reach the Moon.
A new space race?
However, humanity’s return to the Moon is not just about exploration and the pursuit of knowledge. Just as the space race of the 1960s was driven by Cold War geopolitics, today’s space programs are underpinned by today’s geopolitics.
Artemisa is led by the US, with the participation of the European Space Agency and many other friendly nations, including Australia.
China and Russia are collaborating on their own lunar program. They plan to land humans in 2026 and build a lunar base in 2035.
India is also working on robotic lunar landers and a lunar spaceflight program. The United Arab Emirates also plans to launch a lunar lander in November this year.
All of these programs aim to do more than just land astronauts for short visits to the Moon. The long-term goal of the race is to acquire lunar resources.
Resources on the moon
Water ice has been found in the southern regions of the Moon and it is expected that certain gases that can be used as fuels can also be extracted.
These resources could be used to support long-term human habitation on and near the Moon at lunar bases, as well as permanent space stations orbiting the Moon, such as NASA’s planned Gateway.
Apollo moon landing party reflected in astronaut Edwin Aldrin’s face mask. Photo: NASA
The Australian Space Agency supports Australian industry to be part of the Artemis program and America’s planned subsequent trips to Mars. Australian scientists are also developing lunar rovers to aid lunar mining efforts.
Eventually, what we learn on the Moon will be used to advance to Mars. But in the short term, the countries and associated commercial entities that get to the best mining sites first will dominate an emerging lunar economy and lunar politics.
What are the rules?
In the next five years or so, we can expect enormous political tensions to rise around this new moon race.
A question that has yet to be answered: What laws will govern activities on the Moon?
The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 prohibits the appropriation of space “by claims of sovereignty, occupation or by any other means”. It is currently unclear whether mining or other forms of resource extraction are subject to this ban.
The United Nations has a working group that aims to develop a multilateral consensus on the legal aspects of space resource activities.
However, in 2020 the US went against the UN process by establishing the Artemis Accords, which state that resource extraction will occur and is legal. Twenty-one countries, including Australia, have signed such agreements with the US, but they are far from universally accepted.
Another relevant treaty is the Moon Agreement of 1979, signed by 18 countries, including Australia. This agreement states that no entity can own any part of the Moon and requires us to establish a regulatory regime for lunar mining “at the time when the technology is close to being feasible.”
So Australia is between a rock and a hard place as to what role we will play in the development of these new laws. But international law-making and consensus-building are slow: actual practice will most likely be established in the coming years, and decisions about how to govern it will come after the fact.
Technical and political challenges
There is a certain poetic perfection in NASA having chosen the name “Artemis” for this new lunar endeavor. Artemis is the Greek goddess of the moon and the twin sister of Apollo (the namesake of NASA’s 1960s lunar spaceflight program).
Artemis stated that she never wanted to marry because she did not want to become the property of any man.
Even if the moon cannot be claimed, we will see competition over whether parts of it can be mined. Undoubtedly, scientists and engineers will solve the technical challenges of returning to the Moon. Solving the legal and political challenges may prove more difficult.
Cassandra Steer is Deputy Director of the Institute of Space (InSpace) at the Australian National University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.