There is a growing interest in the strategic assets in the realm between Earth and the Moon. The gap is called the cislunar space, which could be the new military "high ground" or territory of conflict as space agencies worldwide ramp up space exploration.
Space.com reported that the US Space Force and China have both started extending their military to the cislunar space. In the coming years, it is predicted that more nations will send missions to the Moon and it is bound for variance of views to occur.
Apollo 15 Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin salutes the U.S. flag. Astronaut James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, gives a military salute while standing beside the deployed U.S. flag during the Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Hadley-Apennine landing site.
Cislunar Space: The Gap Between Earth and Moon
According to Purdue University, the annual revenues of the space industry total $350 billion and might even go up to $3 trillion over the next 30 years. NASA's Artemis program aims at returning humans to the lunar surface in 2024 after the last Apollo mission several decades ago. It will mark the sustained presence of humans on the Moon and open a new era of space exploration and development.
But space agencies are not only aiming for the lunar surface as they are also exploring the cislunar space, the gap between Earth and the Moon. The Air Force Research Laboratory has distributed "A Primer on Cislunar Space" earlier this year that addresses military space professionals to answer the call to develop plans, technologies, and render their expertise for the region.
"Cislunar space has recently become prominent in the space community and warrants attention," the primer explains. More so, the document highlights the importance of new collaborations that is important to safely operate and secure distant frontiers as the US Space Force advances its efforts that are vital to US interests.
Military on the Moon Marks New High Ground and Territory of Conflict
In today's age, the world is no longer global. An article in Air Force Magazine reported that Space Force Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw said, during the Space Symposium's annual Space Warfighter Luncheon in Colorado, that Space Command's area of responsibility is difficult to define as it is unlike the military area of responsibility (AOR) which is determined by lines on a map.
The AOR in the military can be easily defined because of the terrain, political context, and demographics of the world that are important. However, Space Command is not defined by geographic lines but instead relies on an astrographic AOR that includes the cislunar space ad everything beyond 100 kilometers above Earth.
He said that on Earth, the word 'global' is sufficient enough for describing an AOR. But the military should now start thinking in 'superglobal' terms, which is defined as those things relevant to the military matters encompassing the globe and spaces beyond it.
Daniel Deudney from Johns Hopkins University told Space.com that the deterioration of terrestrial Great Power relations and waning of the arms control, as well as the decay of the Outer Space Treaty regime, has opened a new door for major militarization and weaponization of space technologies that will most notably be on the Moon.
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