WASHINGTON ― The United States should begin preparing now to put boots on the moon in order to beat China to domination of outer space, argues a provocative new policy paper by the Mitchell Institute.
The paper thus advocates for the US to overturn nearly 70 years of a consistent national space policy that separates NASA’s civil from military space activities under Title 10, as well as Washington’s almost 60-year stance as a champion of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) that prohibits territorial claims and military occupation of the moon and other celestial bodies.
Entitled “Military Human Spaceflight: A Key Component to U.S. Space Superiority,” the paper is premised on twin assumptions. First, that lunar resources and territory are a critical first step to the future habitation of space, and as such are vital to US national security. And second, that Beijing’s lunar research program is a guise for using its military to occupy the moon as an “extension” its “belligerent” earthly ambitions to extend China’s territory.
“[F]uture American space security is at risk. China’s military-led human space flight progression is positioning the People’s Liberation Army to achieve strategic advantage in lunar access, infrastructure, and resources,” Kyle Puma, Mitchell Institute senior resident fellow for space studies, said today.
