NASA administrator Bill Nelson has recently expressed concern about China’s space ambitions, fearing that China will somehow claim dominance over the Moon and hinder other countries’ exploration. In an interview with a German newspaper, Nelson said that after China landed on the Moon, it could try to keep other countries out. China, on the other hand, quickly opposed these claims, stating that they were “lies”.
This dispute between the NASA administrator and Chinese government officials takes place at a time when both countries are actively engaged in missions to the Moon. In 2019, China became the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon. That same year, China and Russia announced joint plans to reach the Moon’s South Pole by 2026. Some Chinese officials and government documents have also set out their aim to establish a permanent, crewed International Lunar Research Station by 2027.
But there’s a big difference between building a moon base and “taking the moon”, and that difference applies to all countries, including China. While the establishment of just one base would certainly not be enough to assert dominance over an entire satellite, such a claim also has enormous technological, economic and legal challenges. As you can imagine, even sending a spacecraft to the Moon is not cheap, while declaring domination has almost no economic benefit.
From a legal point of view, it is not possible for China to declare dominance on the Moon due to the current international space laws. The Outer Space Treaty, ratified in 1967 and signed by 134 countries, including China, clearly states that “outer space, including the Moon and other outer space objects, is subject to national treatment by claiming sovereignty, use or occupation, or otherwise. It is not subject to pass”. In short, making such a claim by any country that signed this agreement would be a violation of this agreement and this could have very serious consequences in the world.
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