The United States, China and Russia have not ratified an additional agreement to the Treaty on the Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, which prohibits military activities on the moon, according to the American publication Defense One.
The publication claims that there are a limited number of locations on the moon suitable for inhabited or visited bases. According to Defense One, China or Russia, by placing their bases in economically advantageous locations, can organize a security zone around them, where US access will be limited.
The publication admits that this circumstance may provoke hostilities, which will require the protection of US assets at a distance of 272 thousand miles (about 438 thousand kilometers) from the Earth.
“In the future, other defensive and offensive means will be required to ensure the open and peaceful use of the lunar space,” Defense One quotes the opinion of space systems engineer Laura Duffy and lawyer James Lake.
In May, NASA chief Bill Nelson recognized China as an energetic rival to the United States on the Moon and Mars. According to him, the Chinese “have demonstrated that they have the technology to travel millions and millions of miles, to make a successful landing” on the surface of Mars. The head of NASA recalled that in the coming years, China plans to send three rovers to the moon, as well as land a person on a natural satellite of the Earth. “We suddenly realize that we are not the masters of all this. And they represent a very energetic contender, ”said the head of NASA.
