China is getting ready to defend its bit of the Moon
But the Moon doesn't belong to anyone...
China wants to keep watch over its part of the Moon – even though it technically doesn’t belong to anyone.
The nation has plans to build an almost four-mile wide lunar research station near the Moon’s south pole in conjunction with Russia, which it hopes one day will be permanently manned.
Belarus, Pakistan and Azerbaijan are also partners in the programme, seen as a rival to Nasa’s Artemis project.
Now, a paper in the journal Acta Optica Sinica suggests China will deploy its all-seeing surveillance system around the base – and it will apparently have the ability to ‘detect and aim at suspicious targets’.
The Skynet video surveillance network is already widely used in the country, and includes more than 600 million cameras – which averages one camera for every two adult Chinese citizens and leaves little of the country beyond the reach of a lens.
In October, a number of park administrators in Jiangsu province lost their jobs after sharing footage of a couple having sex in the woods.
While critics take aim at its threat to human rights and privacy, its success in mass surveillance means the system is not set for the Moon.
Researchers from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) wrote: ‘The construction and operation of the optical surveillance system for the (International) Lunar Research Station can draw on the successful experience… of China’s Skynet project.’
The study was translated by South China Morning Post.
The lunar version will reportedly have cameras weighing around 100g, with AI-enabled chips ‘capable of identifying, locating, tracking and aiming at suspicious targets independently’, to scan the proposed International Lunar Research Station. The camera will use both visible and infrared light.
Who owns the Moon?
The Outer Space Treaty states that the exploration and use of space shall be carried out in the interests of all countries – that includes the Moon.
That means no one nation can ‘own’ the Moon, or any part of it, regardless of where they plant flags or build bases.
However, not everyone has signed the Treaty – while China is a signatory, Russia is not.
And as the countries and companies begin to explore mining the Moon, deciding who can dig where and could become a source of international tension in years to come.
If an ‘abnormality’ is detected in the system, it will ‘promptly generate alarm signals and initiate appropriate response measures’ – although the paper did not say what the measures would be.
The base will feature a command centre, a power station, a communication hub, scientific facilities and even a fleet of robots. Also included will be satellites for remote sensing, navigation and communication.
The secure monitoring system was deemed essential to ensure the long-term stability of the lunar station, and critical zones may even need continuous 360-degree surveillance.
The array of cameras will also offer high-definition live streams for significant events such as spacecraft arrivals and departures.
China aims to begin building the base in the next few years, to establish a basic set-up by 2028.