Aim for the Moon, not Mars to ensure security and economic opportunities
Space Technology and Policy
Good morning,
Earlier this week, President Trump announced a goal of a manned Martian mission before the end of the decade, echoing President Kennedy’s Rice University address where he famously called on the United States to reach the moon ‘in this decade’.
While the current president has not ruled out a return to the moon, he really hasn’t mentioned it at all.
Elon Musk, on the other hand, has been critical of attempts to return to the Moon, calling it a ‘distraction’.
Musk clearly has won significant favor with the President. So much so, that some are questioning if Musk is the one actually calling the shots and running the government. While that’s obviously not the case—the President has been preparing for four years for his return and is aggressively executing previously prepared plans—Musk does have the President’s ear and it seems likely that Trump’s Martian ambitions have been influenced by his advisor.
While we are excited to see Musk continue to pursue his vision of a manned Martian mission as soon as possible, it cannot come at the expense of national ambitions of returning to the Moon and ensuring continued development of cislunar space.
Strategic Importance of Cislunar Space
Cislunar space—the region between Earth and the Moon—is rapidly becoming the most contested domain in space exploration and defense. It is the key to securing national space ambitions, ensuring economic benefits, and preventing adversaries from dominating the next frontier. Here’s why:
Earth-Moon Logistics Hub: Establishing infrastructure in cislunar space provides a natural stepping stone for deeper space exploration, including Mars. A sustainable presence on the Moon enables the development of refueling stations, waystations, and manufacturing sites that reduce dependency on Earth-based launches.
Orbital Dominance & Space Control: Just as sea lanes dictate global trade, control of key orbital pathways—such as the Earth-Moon Lagrange points—will dictate space access and security. A nation that dominates these regions can dictate terms of access to space for all others, much like maritime chokepoints on Earth. These are also critically stable orbits that will be important for the establishment of xGEO precision navigation and timing (PNT) and space domain awareness.
National Security & Space Defense: The Moon and cislunar space offer strategic vantage points for early warning systems, surveillance, and potential defense installations. If an adversary establishes a dominant presence first, they could develop capabilities to interdict U.S. and allied assets, including satellites and future Mars-bound missions.
Resilience Against Earth-Based Attacks: A cislunar infrastructure can serve as a redundant, survivable layer of national space assets. In the event of terrestrial conflict, having off-world assets can ensure continuity of communications, navigation, and reconnaissance capabilities.
Economic Benefits of a Lunar Strategy
Focusing on the Moon and cislunar space is not just about security—it’s also an economic imperative. Developing lunar infrastructure can unlock immense resources and create entirely new industries.
Resource Extraction & ISRU (In-Situ Resource Utilization): The Moon holds vast quantities of resources, including water ice at the poles, which can be refined into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel. This will enable sustainable deep-space operations and dramatically reduce the cost of missions beyond Earth.
Helium-3 and Rare Materials: The Moon’s surface contains Helium-3, a potential fuel for future fusion energy. Additionally, lunar regolith has rare earth elements critical for modern electronics, reducing dependence on terrestrial supply chains dominated by China.
Cislunar Economy & Space Manufacturing: A robust cislunar economy will drive space manufacturing, enabling the construction of satellites, habitats, and spacecraft using lunar materials rather than launching everything from Earth. This will create an entire ecosystem of space-based industries.
Jobs & Industry Growth: Developing cislunar infrastructure will create high-tech jobs, boost commercial space companies, and establish the U.S. as the leader in space commerce, much like how the U.S. led global aviation and internet revolutions.
Preventing Adversary Domination & Ensuring Space Access
By securing a presence in cislunar space, the U.S. and its allies can establish rules and norms that ensure open and equitable access to space for all. If an adversary, such as China, gains unilateral control over the Moon’s key regions, they could:
Establish exclusion zones, blocking other nations from accessing lunar resources.
Leverage lunar-based assets to monitor or interfere with Earth-orbiting satellites.
Use cislunar space as a staging ground for economic and military coercion.
Instead, by leading in cislunar development, the U.S. can ensure:
Freedom of Space Navigation: Just as international waters ensure open trade, the U.S. can help establish and enforce norms that prevent a single nation from monopolizing space resources.
Allied Space Partnerships: A cislunar strategy strengthens space alliances (e.g., Artemis Accords) by creating a coalition of nations committed to shared access and peaceful use of space.
Long-Term Strategic Deterrence: A credible presence in cislunar space prevents any adversary from assuming they can claim, militarize, or restrict space access unchallenged.
Conclusion
A cislunar strategy is the logical next step in our national space exploration programs AND in our national security strategies related to space. It provides the foundation for sustainable deep-space operations, enables long-term economic benefits, and ensures that space remains accessible and secure for all. Bypassing the Moon in a rush to Mars ignores the fundamental need for infrastructure, logistics, and security in cislunar space.
America’s future in space—and its ability to shape the space domain for generations—depends on securing a presence in cislunar space first.
Let private industry work towards Mars in their spare time, but focus our national efforts closer to home or face humiliation and strategic loss.
Now, without any more ado, let’s dig into the rest of the news around space this week.
News Headlines:
President Trump makes Ukraine support contingent on access to rare earth elements (AP)
Elon Musk tightens grip on gov't, sparking 'coup' accusations (AlJ)
President Trump wants a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, says it could buy TikTok (BBC)
U.S. to withdraw from U.N. Rights council, extend UNRWA funds ban (AlJ)
President Trump agrees to pause tariffs on Canada and Mexico after they pledge to boost border enforcement (AP)
China slaps back at U.S. with tariffs (AlJ)
Trump's tariffs fit a growing global trend of hardball migration diplomacy (DO)
Satellites:
Launches:
Upcoming Launches:
Space News:
Top Pentagon contractors poised for gains as Trump pushes missile shield expansion (SN)
Private Athena moon lander arrives in Florida ahead of SpaceX launch on Feb. 26 (SP)
NASA's new SPHEREx space telescope to launch this month - it can do what JWST can't (SP)
Trump wants to land U.S. astronauts on Mars as soon as 2029 (SP)
Space makes astronauts' eyes softer, raising concerns for Mars missions (SB)
Space Force awards Viasat $3.5M satellite services contract (SN)
Space Force projects ULA to outpace SpaceX in 2025 national security missions (SN)
Space Force Rapid Capabilities Office selects companies for tech accelerator (SN)
Foreign Space News
Chinese astronauts allegedly create rocket fuel using artificial photosynthesis in space (FU)
ISRO's latest mission hits a hurdle, satellite faces technical glitch (ND)
Nokia, partnering with Intuitive Machines and Lunar Outpost aims to establish a lunar 4G network (MWL)
Thales Alenia Space signs $898M contract with ESA to develop the Argonaut Lunar Lander for cargo delivery (ASD)
LSAS Tec Co. to build space debris monitoring base in defunct Japanese elementary school (JN)
Deal Flow:
Funds
Hitachi Ventures raises $400M fund to invest in deep techs including quantum, nuclear, space tech, energy, and AI (TC)
Sei Foundation launches $65M DeSci venture fund 'Sapien Capital' to invest in blockchain-powered science research companies (TB)
VC
Japanese space tech startup ArkEdge Space raised $52.3M in a Series B round led by Incubate Fund KK to provide comprehensive solutions from planning and design to mass production and operation of micro-satellite constellations (SN)
AscendArc raised a $4M seed round led by Seraphim Space to develop small GEO communication satellites (SN)
PE / M&A / Exits / Other
Airbus is in talks with French aerospace company Thales and Italy's Leonardo to create a space and satellite business to compete with SpaceX (BBG)
Opportunities
NASA has issued a request for information about its planned, reusable, hypersonic reentry platform and testbed--specifically around hot structures directly exposed to heat fluxes greater than 100 Watts/sq.cm (SAM)
SDA requests industry feedback on tranche 3 of the Tracking Layer draft solicitation (SAM)
Editor’s Picks
Citizen Power Initiatives founder Jianli Yang thinks that Elon Musk's potential conflicts of interest warrant more scrutiny.
ICYMI: We started breaking down the numbers of what President Trump’s nationwide ‘Iron Dome’ would cost - well in excess of $1.5T.
Lighter Side:
Keep Building,
BOF