Synopsis
The document discusses the emerging race between the United States and China to establish a presence and set norms in cislunar space, the region around the Moon affected by Earth and lunar gravity. Key points:
- China views dominance in cislunar space as critical to replacing the U.S. as the global leader. China is taking a territorial approach, seeking to control access and resources, unlike the U.S. push for multilateral cooperation under the Artemis Accords.
- To compete, the U.S. military needs to develop infrastructure fostering economic/scientific activity in cislunar space while securing those activities. This includes capabilities like space domain awareness, communications, and navigation.
- Modest, early investment by Congress for Space Force/Space Command growth is crucial to accelerate U.S./allied efforts and establish norms before China can restrict access.
- Challenges of operating in cislunar space like communication lags, radiation, temperature swings, and lunar dust necessitate collaboration between civil, commercial, military, and international partners.
- As it has historically, the military can pave the way in frontiers like cislunar space to enable civil/commercial activities. Steps include developing strategy/doctrine, investing in R&D, and fielding initial capabilities for domain awareness, communication, navigation, propulsion etc.
Modest early military investment in cislunar infrastructure will simultaneously advance U.S. leadership in space economically and scientifically while securing national interests. This can establish norms of cooperation before China can control the domain.