Story summary
In the 21st century, a new space race has emerged between billionaires and major world powers aiming to control the Moon. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, envisions building a self-growing city there within a decade, while Jeff Bezos through Blue Origin shares ambitions for lunar colonization. However, experts question the feasibility due to the Moon's lack of water. This renewed interest mirrors Cold War tensions, with reports suggesting a race among nations like the US, Russia, and China to build nuclear reactors on the lunar surface.
The 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty (OST), signed during the height of the Cold War following a Soviet flag landing on the Moon in 1959, prohibits any nation from claiming sovereignty over celestial bodies. Despite this, recent actions by countries such as the US, Luxembourg, the UAE, and Japan indicate an evolving interpretation of what activities are permissible under the treaty.
Experts like Rebecca Connolly, chair of the Space Law Council of Australia and New Zealand, see the Moon becoming a new frontier for geopolitical competition where being first matters significantly.
Written for “Moon Colonization Plans” on 2026-10-10,
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The 20th century ignited a space race between the US and USSR.
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century → ignite → US
But in this century, a new race emerges between billionaires and major world powers to control the Moon.
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race → emerge → Moon
SpaceX's Elon Musk wants to build a self-growing city on the Moon within a decade, a dream researchers have said could be near-impossible due to its lack of water.
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researchers → want → water
Meanwhile, Blue Origin's Jeff Bezos has shared his desire to colonise the Moon.
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Bezos → share → Moon
There are echoes of old Cold War tensions rising between the US and a Russia-China alliance, as reports emerge of a race to build nuclear reactors on the Moon.
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reports → be → Moon
It begs the question: Can anyone actually own the Moon?
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anyone → beg → Moon
It begins with a Cold War treaty
The 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty (OST) arrived at the height of the Cold War, after a USSR rocket carrying a Soviet flag crashed onto the lunar surface in 1959.
It raised concerns in the west about USSR claims of sovereignty over the Moon.
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It → begin → Moon
While that never eventuated, it did kickstart the ethos of a free Moon for all.
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it → eventuate → all
One of the OST's key rulings is that the Moon should be "used exclusively for peaceful purposes", prohibiting weapons testing or military use on its surface.
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Moon → use → surface
Other key articles related to the Moon are below:
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articles → relate → Moon
The exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind.
Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies.
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space → include → bodies
There shall be freedom of scientific investigation in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and States shall facilitate and encourage international co-operation in such investigation.
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States → include → investigation
The OST was endorsed unanimously by the UN's General Assembly, but in the years since, its limits have also been tested.
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limits → endorse → years
Gaps complicate the question
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Gaps → complicate → question
The problem with the OST, as Hussein Badreddine, a specialist in space law at the University of Sydney explains, is that the treaty is "very general and broad".
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treaty → explain → Sydney
Notably, the OST has no provisions for mining the Moon.
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OST → have → Moon
In 1979, the UN Moon Agreement treaty tried to address this by ruling that "the Moon and its natural resources are the common heritage of mankind".
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Moon → try → mankind
However, only 18 nations (including Australia) ratified that treaty.
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nations → include → treaty
Dr Badreddine said the suggestion that nations would need a licence to mine the Moon, with a fee that would then be shared amongst humanity, was seen by some US companies as "trying to socialise the Moon".
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that → say → Moon
Instead, in 2015, an act granted US citizens and private entities the ability to own and sell space resources.
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act → grant → resources
Luxembourg, the UAE and Japan enacted similar legislation.
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Luxembourg → enact → legislation
She has previously written about its merits and said she maintained "faith in the long-term endurance of the treaty, because it's most useful to think about as a constitution".
"The 'non-appropriation principle' in Article II is certainly under pressure, but what seems to be happening is a convergence around a new interpretation of the treaty, rather than discarding the treaty."
Actions like those of the US, Luxembourg, the UAE and Japan were "widening the interpretation of what's possible", she said.
Does influence equal control?
Rebecca Connolly, Space Law Council of Australia and New Zealand chair, believes "the Moon is becoming the next frontier of geopolitical competition".
She said it was a competition where "being first matters".
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being → write → competition
"Countries that establish infrastructure and sustained operations on the Moon may gain considerable influence over how future activities are conducted," Dr Connolly said.
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Connolly → establish → influence
Dr Steer said the risk that SpaceX could control access to, and resources on, the Moon was "something that keeps me up at night".
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that → say → night
"The US can't get to the Moon without SpaceX, but SpaceX could do it without the US, even without government contracts at this point," she said.
"
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she → get → point
Even if SpaceX were contracted by the NASA, there is still a possible scenario where SpaceX lands first on resource-rich lunar real-estate, and is able to use AI and robotics to build enough mining infrastructure to deny access to whoever comes second, and that is a real concern.
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that → contract → access
"
The enduring hope for peace
The US is establishing a new non-binding set of guiding principles around lunar exploration.
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US → endure → exploration
The NASA-led Artemis Accords hope to reaffirm support for the OST, and build guardrails around space debris and the use of space resources.
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Accords → lead → resources
Seventy-six nations have signed up so far, but Russia and China rejected them.
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Russia → sign → them
It is why Dr Badreddine prefers a treaty "under the UN umbrella" that specifically addresses military activity, resource extraction and environmental concerns.
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that → prefer → activity
"That treaty must be detailed and it should be negotiated under the auspices of the UN rather than outside the UN," he said.
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he → detail → UN
What the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs does have is a working group, which is recommending legal principles for space resources.
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which → work → resources
Its last round draft recommendations, in April this year, recommended the Moon and its resources could not become property of any state or organisation.
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Moon → recommend → state
It also reaffirmed the need for peace on the Moon, a message that seems more pertinent than ever.
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that → reaffirm → message
Last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans for weapons innovation, pointing to the need to dominate "any future battlefield, from under the Earth to beyond the moon".
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Hegseth → announce → moon
It comes after the US confirmed for the first time it had deployed weapons in space.
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it → come → space
Unlike the Moon, space does not have the same guardrails for peace.
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space → have → peace
But any battles on the Moon would be a "flagrant" breach of the OST's principles, Dr Steer said.
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Steer → say → principles
"It would also probably be in breach of the UN Charter," she said.
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she → say → Charter
But none of that matters to the current administration.
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none → matter → administration
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