by Multiple nations are targeting the moon as an extraterrestrial destination for long-term human presence.
For NASA, getting a literal “foot up” on the moon again through its Artemis program is a delight. the a way to make a tromp and train for a march on Mars. In many ways, such a future undertaking can be compared to Antarctica, where there are many distant research stations. During the summer months, about 5,000 people live on research centers, a number that drops to about 1,000 in the winter.
Antarctica is governed by approximately 30 countries, all of which are parties to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System.
Can that bleak, unassuming scenery serve as a template for working on the moon, or even offer lessons in how best to collaborate in remote, harsh environments?
Related: Cooperation on the moon: Are Artemis Fairs enough?
White Mars
Antarctic activities include the French-Italian Concordia research station. Occupants are subject to almost total isolation from the world, and under hostile conditions. These climates are suitable for the European Space Agency (ESA).
The ESA is a multi-country organization and has sponsored work at Concordia over the years. “Antarctic research at Concordia is helping people adapt, mentally and physically, to a changing climate, longer journeys in space, and eventually, life on another planet,” notes ESA, giving it “analog” status him and tagging the site as “White”. Mars.”
Antarctica is also home to China’s newly installed fifth scientific research station, the country’s third year-round station in the region. It can accommodate up to 80 researchers, who will conduct atmospheric, oceanic, biological and ecological studies.
The new Chinese complex builds on the other four Antarctic research stations; Changcheng and Zhongshan are year-round stations, Taishan and Kunlun are summer stations.
As for its lunar ambitions, China is already in deep space planning mode, and Russia appears to be tagging along, to deploy the International Lunar Research Station.
IceCube – collaborative business
A scientific instrument located in Antarctica does very groundbreaking work, like spotting neutrinos – a fundamental but difficult particle to pin down.
Jim Madsen is the director of the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center, or WIPAC. They operate the IceCube Neutrino Observatory – the first detector of its kind – designed to observe the cosmos from deep within the ice of the South Pole.
An international group of IceCube researchers carry out scientific work using the facility, which is a collaborative business.
“The international treaty’s guiding actions in Antarctica can serve as a model for establishing a sustainable, successful international moon base,” Madsen told Space.com. Getting agreement on the range of potential projects, and then buying in with real resources, helps ensure all partners stay committed, he said.
“Moving from exploration to a year-round base to a discovery platform was the path built at the South Pole,” Madsen said. “It’s exciting to see similar progress in space.”
Geostrategic maneuver
But for those countries looking to establish a long-term presence on the moon, that celestial real estate may have factors that are similarly evident in Antarctica.
That’s the view offered by Marigold Black, lead author of the RAND Corporation report “Antarctica at Risk: Geostrategic Maneuvering and the Future of the Antarctic Treaty System.” The report was produced as an outgrowth of a RAND think tank project as Black moved on to her own enterprise, co-director of Norfolk. It provides high-level research and strategic advice to public and private sectors in Australia and the region.
“First of all, the development of structures based on the moon, such as in Antarctica, is likely to create tensions about what it means to control territory, what activities are allowed on and around the bases, and what which means dominance over such an alien landscape,” Black told Space.com
Black said that one of the most significant issues to develop around bases in Antarctica, and likely to translate to the lunar experience, “is the extension of the definitions of the terms ‘scientific research’ and ‘peaceful territories’ in the context of . activities performed there.
It is especially important to see as they move forward on the moon, how will countries behave?
It is an area where there is an immature system of governance and control, said Black, and where norm development itself is still underdeveloped.
“In the case of Antarctica, extreme conditions and geographic isolation naturally inhibit the extent of human activities,” Black said. “And these limits also apply to the moon, and in a profound sense.”
Race to the bottom
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Black highlighted one finding from the RAND study, and from an associated board exercise.
“Despite the origin and altruistic spirit of the Antarctic Treaty System,” said Black, “we found it easy for participants representing the various States to move in their own interest when someone moved other.”
It was a race of sorts “to avoid any real or perceived advantages that the first person to break the norm might gain,” Black said.
In fact, a perceived weakness in the governance regime, including a lack of enforcement mechanisms, in terms of exploitative behaviours, environmental damage and militarism, could lead to a “race to the bottom”.
“The truth is, there is very little in place in Antarctica to stop this, and arguably much less on the moon,” said Black.
