State Department wants to expand diplomacy in space

The State Department has a new goal: foster diplomacy in space.

To that end, the department released a 25-page document that outlines its path to improving diplomatic efforts in space. 

According to officials, the plan will help to ensure there is American leadership in space, which is crucial at a time when Chinese space activities are on the rise. Global space participation is also growing, which is exciting but calls for international rules and order. 

The public unveiling of this framework comes just one day after China sent three astronauts to its space station and announced that it plans to put people on the moon by 2030 — a goal NASA has been working toward as well. 

As low Earth orbit continues to become more and more crowded, tensions will rise, which calls for action now. That’s why the State Department has set forth goals to “build international partnerships for civil and national security space, promote a rules-based international order for outer space and work to secure the United States and its allies from space-enabled threats.”

Historically, space relations have been governed by NASA or the Pentagon, but the State Department’s oversight signals a larger diplomatic endeavor. However, while the document states that space-related issues, activities and programs will be addressed at the highest levels of foreign governments, it does not spell out how exactly that will happen. 

This diplomatic strategy builds on the peaceful cooperation that NASA has laid out in the agency’s Artemis Accords — an international effort to create a legal framework for how nations are to behave in space. This includes where different countries can work on the lunar surface and how they can share public discoveries. To date, 24 countries have signed the accords. 

The accords go one step further to not only include traditional space allies, like Canada, but to also include nations that want to grow their space programs like the United Arab Emirates and Rwanda. 

The Biden administration has said that space systems allow for global cooperation that can help improve the lives of people on Earth, especially concerning events like natural disasters, climate change or tracking the migration of refugees — or even illegal fishing. Officials also say that space systems are extremely important for military operations and can help monitor whether or not countries are complying with arms treaties. 

The department is also hopeful that the framework will help ensure more countries are transparent in their space activities — something that China has not been the best at, according to experts.

As such, some officials — like NASA Administrator Bill Nelson — have voiced concerns over the country’s space ambitions. 

In recent years, China has had success with its space missions, including landing a rover on the far side of the moon, landing on Mars, and building a new space station, and the nation has its own plans of putting boots on the moon by 2030. 

Nelson warns that if China gets to the moon first, the country could claim it as its own, blocking any other nations from landing, which would be a direct violation of the Outer Space Treaty.

Although unlikely, it’s not impossible, which is why Nelson says that if the U.S. can make it there first, then it can be assured there’s diplomacy — something this framework will hopefully help with.