The Space Race is back on, and a new cast of characters are rewriting the rules of space exploration and privatization.

By Xische Editorial, August 11, 2021

What’s happening in space? Longtime readers of Xische’s articles will be well aware of the incredible strides the UAE has made in several space endeavors. From the Mars orbiter to plans for Moon exploration, the UAE shows that small countries can defy the odds and explore the furthest reaches of our solar system. The larger question to consider is what is happening concerning space privatization and exploration.  

Jeff Bezos, Sir Richard Branson, and Elon Musk have invested vast personal capital in creating sustainable space ventures. Bezos and Branson have recently traveled to the edge of space (complete with significant media attention). As private entrepreneurs move into the space race, the United States appears to be scaling back its investment. Instead of using taxpayer funds, why not have private companies foot the large bills of space exploration? 

This is an exciting approach, but America is alone in its scaling back of space exploration. Major superpowers like China are ratcheting their space exploration efforts, and smaller countries like the UAE have sent missions to Mars. This all points to a significant seachange in the nature of space exploration, and it’s time to consider the new parameters of space exploration. 

Perhaps the best way to understand these changing dynamics can be found on the Moon. Well, not exactly on the Moon but in the race to put people back on the Moon. The United States beat Russia in the race to the Moon during the Cold War. Since then, the US hasn’t demonstrated a willingness to invest substantial sums into returning to the Moon. There hasn’t been a piloted mission to the Moon in decades. That’s about to change in a significant way. China and other countries have made sending astronauts to the Moon a top national priority. At the same time, private companies have made moon travel an ultimate goal. Private companies such as Bezos’s Blue Origin are picking up the slack and requesting the authority to lead their missions to the Moon. 

In April, NASA awarded Elon Musk’s SpaceX a $2.9bn contract to build a spacecraft to bring astronauts to the Moon’s lunar surface as early as 2024. Yet, Bezos has been persistent, as Reuters reported in July. After his trip to the edge of space, Bezos offered to cover up to $2 billion in NASA costs if the U.S. space agency awards his company Blue Origin a contract to make a spacecraft designed to land astronauts back on the moon. This is America’s new space race, taking place in the private sector between technology billionaires. 

In a long and compelling piece, The Economist captured the essential point about the new space race. ​​“It is possible that America will instead get to the Moon by supporting the aspirations of brilliant and determined—if sometimes petty—entrepreneurs and harnessing the capabilities they provide. It promises to be a more effective mode of exploration. It could also be the beginning of something more. While Mr Musk dreams of his Starships taking settlers to Mars, Mr Bezos talks of using resources from the Moon to build new industries in space (such as power generation, asteroid mining or the production of exotic new materials). It is a vision shared by Chinese space enthusiasts such as Lieutenant-General Zhang Yulin, who works in a part of the People’s Liberation Army devoted to space- and cyber operations. Its realization, should it come to pass, may offer a truly dramatic answer to the question of which system can better respond to the challenges of the future.”

The next chapter in space exploration is upon us whether we have been paying close attention or not. Its parameters are entirely different from the last great race to space during the Cold War. Still, with technological advancements and many new countries and companies participating, it is already fruitful.