For some, the Moon is a vision of nature’s splendor, a blessing that the Universe bestowed on Earth. For others, the natural satellite could be a place to explore wealth or a launch pad for discovering the cosmos. For the Americans, more specifically, for General Anthony Mastalir, the Moon could be the base for attacks by China that target the USA.
The Moon in the midst of military futurism
As the lunar space race intensifies, the United States becomes increasingly concerned about its main adversary: China. This is because they understand that the Asian giant could use our natural satellite to launch attacks.
As the military website Defense One reports, Space Force's Anthony Mastalir, a brigadier general who commands the Indo-Pacific section of the off-planet security force, appears concerned that China may not honor the decades-old space treaty that requires all countries use space only to benefit all humanity.
From a military perspective, I'm curious if there are attack vectors that we haven't considered or that we need to consider.
Mastalir pondered.
The general went on to refer to two main areas of concern: beyond geostationary orbit or “xGEO,” which is an area of space beyond where conventional satellites operate, and cis-lunar space, the space between Earth and Earth. Moon.
Given the number of satellites that the US military and countless other public and private entities have floating outside the atmosphere, it is legitimate to worry that someone might attack them.
Who is the villain?
In fact, the general said that because the Space Force is committed to “deterring a terrestrial malicious actor,” it needs to focus on whether terrestrial conflicts can leave our atmosphere and be tasked with harming targets on Earth or in orbit around our planet.
These are land conflicts that we hope we can deter and also do not want, although it is increasingly likely, [que] extend into space or even begin in space, but they are terrestrial conflicts.
One day in the future this may change, but for now I would be more concerned just with these new orbits, a presence on the Moon – what it represents in possible attack vectors for our traditional operational orbits.
Mastalir explained during his talk at a conference organized by the Aerospace Corporation at the beginning of the week, as reported by Defense One.
While the general is far from alone in his concerns about China's lunar ambitions, which have intensified alongside the United States' own plans to return to the Moon within the next few years with NASA's Artemis mission, this particular set of concerns seems be distinct from the military-aerospace conjunction for which the Space Force was created.
China, for its part, has denied American allegations that it seeks to use the Moon for something nefarious. As Bloomberg reported last month, a Chinese defense official accused the US of “using alleged threats from other nations as an excuse to expand its own military power” during a press conference responding to the accusations.
Clearly, this does not appear to be a “Honeymoon” between opponents. Before that, we may be heading towards a “War Moon”. Instead of lunar bases for space exploration, these accusations seem to predict that the Moon could be considered for other purposes.
