China, Russia seek to explore Natural Resources on Moon

Insight Bureau: Two of the world’s biggest countries are vying to become leading space powers in the near future. A senior defence analyst for space and counter space of the US Defense intelligence (DIA), Keith Ryder warned on Tuesday that Moscow and Beijing decide to explore and exploit the natural resources of the moon and Mars over subsequent 30 years.

“Both nations (China, Russia) seek to broaden their space exploration initiatives together and individually, with plans to explore the moon and Mars during subsequent 30 years, and if successful, these efforts will likely lead to attempts by Beijing and Moscow to exploit the moon’s natural resources,” Ryder said during a press briefing. The US Defense Intelligence Agency recently published a new report on challenges to security in space that focuses on Russia and China as the main competitors of the United States in this domain.

The combined space fleet of Russia and China has grown by 70 per cent between 2019 and 2021, while in the 2015-2018 period the two countries increased their respective fleets by more than 200 per cent, DIA said.
Between 2019 and 2021 the combined operational space fleets of China and Russia have grown by approximately 70 per cent.

This recent and continuing expansion follows a period of growth (2015-2018) where China and Russia had increased their combined satellite fleets by quite 200 per cent,” the agency added.

According to the report, the drive to modernize and increase capabilities for both countries is reflected in nearly all major space categories–satellite communications (SATCOM), remote sensing, navigation-related, and science and technology demonstration.