US Space Force plans to patrol Moon's invisible side as a rocket nears collision

The U.S. Military is planning to expand its reach in outer space through a new patrolling system, revealed the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Named the Cislunar Highway Patrol System (CHPS), this satellite would be developed to enhance the U.S. Space Force's ability to track and identify artificial objects surrounding the moon and beyond. The Moon-patrolling spacecraft will be deployed into the cislunar space, which is the far side of the Moon. It is the same area that is not visible from Earth and will get struck by rocket debris on March 4.

The U.S. aims to reach the far side of the Moon

In a video shared by the AFRL, it demonstrated how the US is extending its reach in outer space from 35,400 kilometres. "The Air Force Research Laboratory is extending that range by 10 times and the operations area of the United States by 1,000 times, taking our reach to the far side of the moon into cislunar space, far beyond the crowd", the video states. It further said that the CHPS will bypass thousands of government and commercial satellites launched until now to reach "a rarely before visited domain, 2,72,000 miles (4,38,000 km) from Earth".  According to the AFRL, increasing space traffic to the moon, many times over the coming decades, will ensure the peaceful development of space and keep the missions secure. 

Stating that the U.S. Space Force will ensure the peaceful development of space, the AFRL adds in the video, "The responsible use of space and unfettered access to space domain awareness ensures collision avoidance, on-orbit logistics, communication, navigation and manoeuvring, all critical to the United States and allied space commerce, science and exploration." 

The system would not be used for threat-response

Citing Brian Weeden, director of program planning for the nonprofit Secure World Foundation, Space.com reported him saying, "It's the first step for them (U.S. military) to be able to know what’s going on in cislunar space and then identify any potential threats to US activities". He, however, said that the cislunar system will most likely be used only for observational purposes and not for responding to outer space threats. In the video as well, the AFRL says that it aims to provide the technology to "ensure safe space exploration, keeping an eye on adversaries and providing critical national defence capabilities to the Moon and beyond". 

Image: AFRL