How new space race threatens to turn the Moon into the next 'Wild West' - as competition for resources could see nations turn their gaze to the stars

The race for minerals threatens to turn the Moon into the ‘Wild West’ as the competition for resources could see nationals turning their gaze to the stars.

The Moon is a multi-quadrillion-pound hotbed of unearthed riches from rare Earth metals used in smartphones to helium that could perhaps provide an invaluable source of energy.

That includes H20 as deposits of frozen water – which could be used not only for drinking but also broken down into hydrogen for fuel or oxygen to breathe – are scattered across the moon’s south pole.

There has been unease among scientists about how the moon’s resources are going to be policed after previous attempts to govern it, including the Moon Agreement of 1979, have failed to garner international consensus, with neither the US, Russia or China signing it.

‘A space Wild West is coming into existence,’ British Philosopher AC Grayling has now warned in his new book Who Owns the Moon?.

‘The consequences for peace and stability on Earth, already tenuous on conventional grounds … could be, and too likely will be, as petrol on to a fire,’ he was quoted as writing in the Sunday Times.

The race for minerals threatens to turn the Moon (pictured) into the wild west, a British philosopher has warned as the competition for resources could see nationals turning their gaze to the stars

Water is one of the most valuable resources on the moon and is mostly located in craters at the south pole, left, and north pole, right. The blue in the images represents areas of surface ice

This colourised image of the Moon reveals the presence of different materials

On some parts of the moon, including the Sea of Tranquility, there are helium-3 concentrations of 20 parts per billion in the surface material (pictured)

‘There is an all-too-possible potential for conflict between private and state agencies who become very heavily invested in exploiting resources on the Moon,’ the philosopher added.

NASA and the European Space Agency hope to find water on the Moon, which could cut space mission costs by providing hydration, oxygen, and much-needed fuel for rockets as it currently costs an exorbitant £1million to get one cubic metre of water from Earth to the Moon.

READ MORE: The race to the dark side of the Moon: NASA is in a sprint against Russia, China and Europe to be the first to land on the southern hemisphere

But these are not the only resources possibly available on the Moon and common minerals, rare earth elements as well as metals are there for the taking.

Among the rare metals scientists believe are hidden in the Moon’s south pole’s cold dark craters are Shackleton, Shoemaker, de Gerlache and Haworth, which are vital in emerging technologies, as well for use in smartphones, computers, hybrid car batteries and medical equipment.

Grayling believes the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which states that the Moon belongs to ‘mankind’ so anyone who lands on it can take what they want, is ‘quite insufficient’.

He said it should be replaced with a new agreement between nations that outlines a stronger framework for activities in space.

Grayling’s criticism of the treaty comes as US intelligence services highlighted fears that Putin could put nuclear weapons into space, which sources said the Russian leader could potentially use against satellites, rather than dropping onto earth.

He said this was ‘very worrying’, as it could lead to other countries doing the same.

Japan, India and China each have already sent an unmanned spacecraft to the Moon within that last five years.

This image from video provided by SpaceX via NASA TV shows the lunar lander separating from the rocket’s upper stage and heading toward the moon

While countries say their explorations on the Moon are purely for ‘science’, the US Russian space chief let it slip shortly after his country’s spacecraft failed to make the lunar journey that it was about ‘ensuring defensive capabilities and achieving technological sovereignty’ and the ‘natural resources’.

This comes as the Odysseus lunar lander was lifted off atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket flown by Musk’ SpaceX from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral this week.

It is expected to land on the Moon on Thursday, which would make it the first American spacecraft to do so since 1972. But it is not the only Moon mission planned in the near future.

This year, several rovers and instruments to closely survey the lunar landscape, its resources and potential hazards will be sent towards the Moon by the US.

Odysseus will focus on space weather interactions with the moon’s surface, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies and navigation.

In 2026, NASA plans to send a crew to the Moon, while China intends to send its own manned spacecraft to the Moon in 2030.

Odysseus will take about a week to reach the lunar surface after it detaches from the Falcon 9 rocket

The NASA’s Nova-C lunar lander, encapsulated within the fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, part of the Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission, lifts up from the Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center

NASA hopes to eventually build up a human presence on the moon and will send astronauts to the Lunar Gateway space station (illustration of the Lunar Gateway)

Grayling believes the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which states that the Moon belongs to ‘mankind’ so anyone who lands on it can take what they want, is ‘quite insufficient’

Last month, Japan became the fifth country to place a lander on the moon, with its space agency JAXA achieving an unusually precise ‘pinpoint’ touchdown of its SLIM probe last month.

Last year, India became the fourth nation to land on the moon, after Russia failed in an attempt the same month.

The United States, the former Soviet Union and China are the only other countries that have carried out successful soft lunar touchdowns. China scored a world first in 2019 by achieving the first landing on the far side of the moon.

The US also plans to build a ‘lunar gateway’, a space station which would allow astronauts to be shuttled to the Moon, which the agency reportedly hopes to extend in the future for missions to Mars and beyond.

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