The sentence “I’ll shoot you on the moon!” may come across the lips of one or the other in the initial excitement. It’s now clear that you can’t shoot someone you’re angry at anywhere. The reason: There is currently a scramble between the USA and China. Both want to set up their lunar stations in the same area of the earth’s satellite, specifically near the lunar south pole.
NASA and the National Space Administration of China chose this particular region of the moon because of its high elevations and good light conditions, as well as huge lunar craters, reports SpaceNews. It is believed that there is not only water ice in these craters, but also a lot of carbon dioxide (CO2). The latter can be used for the production of rocket fuel, but also for biomaterials or steel. Raw materials that are extremely important for the operation of a moon station.
For the US professor of space law, Christopher Newman, it now depends on who is faster. As he told SpaceNews, this could be the first interstate conflict involving “beyond Earth” resources. The Chinese and US manned lunar missions are officially scheduled for 2024 and 2025.
