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https://theconversation.com/artemis-ii-as-humans-return-to-the-moon-which-of-these-4-futures-will-we-choose-280267>
"The four Artemis II astronauts who looped around the Moon this week are
expected to splash down soon. NASA’s grand mission spells a return to human
deep-space travel, with renewed interest in building a long-term Moon base.
The images captured by the crew are spectacular, offering a view from the far
side of the Moon with Earth hovering low on the horizon.
They are another reminder of technical achievement and human ambition. But in
the background, decisions about what happens next and who benefits are already
taking shape.
While there have always been legal tensions around ownership, access and
control of space, in 2026 they no longer seem like abstract concepts.
The 1967
Outer Space Treaty declares space “the province of all mankind”,
barring countries from claiming ownership. Yet newer frameworks like the United
States’
Artemis Accords introduce concepts such as exclusive “safety zones”
around lunar activities, which could include mining of water or helium-3.
Space law expert Cassandra Steer views this as an example of the US “trying to
carve out a loophole”. Legal scholar Michael Byers and space archaeologist
Alice Gorman further note that even well-intentioned mechanisms can become
tools for asserting control in a domain that is meant to remain shared.
This tension between cooperation and competition, shared benefit and private
gain, is neither accidental nor new. It reflects fundamentally different ways
of imagining the future of space.
So, is this new lunar era going to be one marked by countries’ collective
stewardship of what lies beyond Earth – or yet another space race?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
