China, Russia vying for space dominance to exploit natural resources on Moon & Mars: US

As China and Russia are striving to become the world's top space powers in the coming years, a senior defence analyst of the United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Keith Ryder stated on Tuesday that Moscow and Beijing now want to explore and exploit the moon's and Mars' natural resources over the course of the next 30 years. According to a report from the US Department of Defence, Ryder warned indicating Russia and China during a news briefing, "Both nations seek to broaden their space exploration initiatives, together and individually, with plans to explore the moon and Mars during the next 30 years. If successful, these efforts will likely lead to attempts by Beijing and Moscow to exploit the moon's natural resources." 

These remarks of Ryder came after the release of a new report by the US Defense Intelligence Agency on the "Challenges to Security in Space 2022," which largely focuses on Russia and China as the US's key competitors in this sector. 

Further, according to John F. Huth, the DIA defence intelligence officer for space and counter space, the new report covers Chinese, Russian, North Korean, and Iranian space and counter space projects that potentially pose substantial risks to US or partner interests. 

Russia and China are aiming to become the superpower in space dominance: US

Russia and China, as per this report, are aiming to become the world's top space powers in the coming future. "Beijing and Moscow seek to position themselves as leading space powers, intent on creating new global space norms,” citing the report, ANI reported. The US intelligence agency further asserted that they want to undermine US global leadership by using space and counter-space capabilities 

In addition to this, between the period of 2019 and 2021, Russia and China's combined space fleets grew by 70%, while the two nations' separate fleets grew by over 200% between 2015 and 2018, according to DIA.  

Meanwhile, "Challenges to Security in Space” was initially released in early 2019 to evaluate the primary risks to the US space capabilities, as well as space and counter-space plans and systems undertaken largely by China and Russia, and to a lesser extent, North Korea and Iran. This second edition expands on previous work by providing an updated, unclassified summary of the challenges to US space capabilities, notably those posed by China and Russia, as those dangers continue to grow. 

As per the report, both nations' efforts to update and expand their capabilities can be seen in practically every major space category, including satellite communications (SATCOM), remote sensing, navigation, as well as scientific and technology demonstration.  

(Image: AP)