NASA

Back to the Moon

The challenge: Partying like it’s 1969. National pride aside, a trip back to the moon presents a host of research possibilities and a potential natural resource grab (think helium-3 and oxygen-rich minerals like ilmenite) for ambitious space-faring nations.

The reigning champ: Under U.S. President George W. Bush’s “Moon to Mars” program, announced in 2004, the United States aims to be back on the lunar surface by 2020, with plans to build a permanent solar-powered moon base where astronauts can stay for up to six months at a time.

The challengers: They are coming from all sides. At the rate the Chinese are going, NASA has warned, they will have no problem beating Americans back to the moon. China also aims to establish a lunar base by 2020 and expects to launch its first unmanned lunar orbiter before the end of this year. India hopes to send up a similar space probe as early as April 2008. But so far, Japan has led the way with the successful launch of its lunar orbiter Kaguya in September. The most advanced spacecraft sent to the moon since the U.S. Apollo missions in the 1970s, Kaguya is a major step toward Japan’s goal of building a manned station on the moon by 2025. The private sector is also gearing up to take a giant leap forward in the lunar challenge: Google recently announced a $20 million prize for the first private team of researchers to send a rover to the moon by the end of 2012.

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Mars and Beyond

The challenge: Putting a human on Mars—and all the prestige that comes with it.

The reigning champ: NASA has all sorts of orbiters, rovers, and landers destined for the red planet. Two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have been surviving dust storms and exploring craters on Mars since 2004. The Phoenix lander is currently headed there to look for hints of water and signs of life. And NASA is aiming to put a human on the surface by 2037.

The challengers: Russia, the European Union, China, and India. For now, most of the discussion surrounding a Mars mission involves unmanned probes, such as Russia’s Phobos-Grunt and the European Union (EU)’s Mars Express. Compared with the lunar rivalry, there is a great deal more talk of collaboration and cooperation on exploration projects, with scientists calling for countries to pool their resources together, like they did to develop the International Space Station (ISS). So far, both the Chinese and the Indians have partnered up with the Russians. China and Russia are expected to launch a joint mission to Mars in 2009; Russia will launch the spacecraft while China will provide the survey equipment. In the short term, the closest humanity might get to a manned mission is Mars-500, a simulation space flight to Mars organized by the the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems and the European Space Agency. At the end of next year, six lucky “astronauts” will endure over 520 days in the space station module. Though they’ll never actually leave the ground, they will still have to deal with mock emergencies like fires and a radiation scare.

NASA

Antisatellite Weapons

The challenge: U.S. vulnerability. Rapid advancements in antisatellite technology are generating the biggest bang in space weaponization and making the United States’ network of critical communication, intelligence, and surveillance satellites look like sitting ducks in orbit.

The reigning champ: The United States demonstrated its capability to take out satellites with ballistic missiles way back in 1985. The Pentagon’s current focus, though, is developing high-power laser technology such as the ground-based Starfire Optical Range at the Kirtland Air Force Base. The Pentagon says Starfire is intended for tracking purposes, but the system could easily be used in an attack capacity. Other growing U.S. technologies include maneuvering microsatellites and space-based interceptors, which can be used to track and knock down enemy satellites or missiles.

The challengers: Mostly China, but also Russia, India, and Israel. The world held its breath when China conducted its first antisatellite test this January, shooting down one of its own aging satellites in low-Earth orbit with a ballistic missile. As if that wasn’t enough, reports point to Chinese attempts to blind U.S. spy satellites with laser technology. China’s improvements in satellite tracking have legitimate peaceful uses such as avoiding space debris, but they could someday pose a threat to U.S. satellites. The United States also faces growing competition from Russia, India, and Israel, which have been rapidly improving their space surveillance and satellite jamming capabilities as well as developing similar laser technologies to potentially blind or destroy satellites.

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Global Navigation Satellite Systems

The challenge: Skyrocketing demand. The global market for global positioning devices hit $15 billion in 2006. And it’s not just military planners who are buying. These systems provide accurate positioning, navigation, and timing information to farmers, rescue workers, and lost drivers everywhere.