BLUF: Race to the Moon

NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed lunar flight in more than 50 years (!!), was delayed this week - a massive disappointment for us former space campers. While the Artemis II crew will not land on the Moon, the mission remains a critical inflection point in the accelerating competition for dominance and control of the final frontier.

Artemis, unlike many of the Cold War era lunar expeditions, is far from just an exercise in prestige or scientific research. As space quickly becomes a top tier contested security domain where access, presence, and technological superiority will directly shape outcomes down here on Earth, the Moon has once again become a focal point of contention and adversarial competition. 

While it may seem like things straight out of a Star Wars movie, it's clear that the nation that sets norms, infrastructure, and operational patterns on and around the Moon will influence everything from resource utilization to space-based command, control, and intelligence architectures. 

Chief among those competing with the US for control is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Unsurprisingly, the CCP’s lunar program is well-resourced and already making great strides in advancing capabilities and technologies, such as its push in robotic landings. While we find ourselves in the uncomfortable situation of being somewhat behind, in his visit this week to Blue Origin’s rocket factory, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reiterated President Trump’s commitment to the mission and the national security imperative of Artemis so there is hope that we will make up ground. 

Much like its historical predecessor, losing this space race would carry consequences far beyond lunar orbit. In fact, future conflicts may well be deterred or decided long before they reach the ground. So let’s get Artemis II up there and in a hurry. 

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