I’d rather see the US beat both. The instant any other nation establishes a permanent working base on the moon, it establishes a claim on the mineral resources of the moon, regardless of whatever toothless UN treaties have been signed. It’s obvious that Japan, China, Russia, and India all have their sights set on establishing a presence on the moon within several decades. The US has no choice but to return permanently.
I hope they concentrate on mining the moon... We should focus on mining the oceans. More minerals and 1000 times easier - and cheaper - to get. Considering the difficulties inherent in space travel - including gravity wells and the lack of any atmosphere - we should really focus on resources that are readily available here.
Let Russia, China, and Japan fight over the moon. We’ll just take the entire Eastern half of the Pacific...
Couldn’t agree more. Mars is a pointless excersie right now. The focus of the US space program should be a quick return to the moon with the establishment of a permanent manned settlement as soon as possible thereafter.
And yes can we all accept that the Moon Treaty is worthless. As soon as any country gets a permanent foothold they’re going to toss the treaty and claim the land.
The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty rules. The 1984 Moon Treaty also rules most countries if not the USA, but claiming space resources is definitely out of the question.