What Venezuela’s moonbase vow says about China, Russia, and the USA – By Anna Prince & Peter W. Singer (Defense One) / July 17, 2023
Caracas’ participation in the International Lunar Research Station is more than merely symbolic.
Venezuela recently declared that it intends to cooperate with China and Russia on the International Lunar Research Station, making it the first country to formally do so. While Caracas’ participation may seem purely symbolic, as the crisis-stricken petrostate is in no position to make substantial lunar contributions, even this symbolism has broad geopolitical implications on Earth and in space alike.
China and Russia envision the ILRS as a “comprehensive scientific experiment base with the capability of long-term autonomous operations,” primarily tasked with lunar archeological and ecological research while also producing lunar energy. The timeline is ambitious, as China hopes to complete a basic model by 2028 and achieve full functionality by 2040. This places the ILRS in competition with the U.S.-backed Artemis Accords, a multilateral 2020 framework for lunar exploration and cooperation in space, which currently has 26 cosignatories, including Latin America’s Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil.
As the next space race begins to take shape, lunar exploration promises strategic and economic benefits. To highlight just one area: lunar mining could upend global markets for strategic and valuable cobalt, lithium, and rare-earth minerals. The legality of mineral mining is ambiguous, as a 1979 UN treaty regards astral resources as a “common heritage of mankind” that cannot be exploited for national gain. Yet many nations, including the United States, have laws explicitly allowing it. The stakes are high for geopolitics, as China currently supplies most of the world’s rare-earth minerals, some of which are critical to American defense technology. Thus, competition for lunar real estate is also competition for technological capacity on Earth.
The ILRS and Artemis also play a role as signifiers of geopolitical influence and strategic alignment behind either Beijing or Washington. Notably, both the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, as well as the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) have also signed up to partner with the Russian-Chinese project. Caracas’ declaration of its intent to join them is just the latest indicator of China’s growing ties to the region and to Venezuela specifically.
