With billionaires creating more and more rockets every year, NASA’s ongoing Artemis programme and Perseverance as well as Curiosity and Tianwen-1 exploring the Martian surface - not to mention the impending threat of the deployment of a nuclear weapon to destroy millions of satellites and the International Space Station - the theme of space exploration is more prominent than ever before. So, with the rapid advancement of space technology and different big players involved in high stakes space politics, the inevitable question arises: is this the start of another space race? By Viktoriia When most people think about the space race, the images they largely conjure up are of the Apollo programme, the landing on the Moon, the launch of Sputnik and Yury Gagarin as the first person in space. Essentially defined by the rivalry between the United States and the U.S.S.R. However, it is little known that, aside from this 1960s seminal cosmic competition, there have been multiple other, lesser-known space races: the Mars Race, The Billionaire Space Race, the Google Lunar X Prize, the Ansari X Prize, and even the development of the Amerika Bomber, as specified by the contract signed by Nazi Germany during WWII to create a strategic bomber to pose threats to the United States of America. These space races have been swept aside by the glory and patriotic commissioning of the Space Race in the 1960s and lost in history. However, it may be time to reconsider our definition of a space race in the light of recent events in the development of space exploration. The definition of a space race, according to the Oxford Languages Dictionary is; “the competition between nations regarding achievements in the field of space exploration”. Are current events in space simply an extension of standard economic and political competition between nations and businesses, or could this be a prelude to a more seismic, era-defining rivalry for access to space's resources? The 1960s Space Race was the basis of the establishment of this definition, therefore, in order to establish the connection between the current events and the dynamics and features of a space race, it is critical to compare and contrast the two time periods. Involvement Perhaps the most notable difference between the Space Race in the 1960s and the advancement of current events is the number of countries and agencies involved. In the 1960s, the two major parties involved were the U.S.S.R and the United States of America, however, this space race was not only targeted at improving space technologies, but rather, it was a competition between two large political systems: Capitalism and Communism. This was another chapter of the Cold War - defined by a sense of hostility towards the other party involved, which was perpetuated through misinformation, propaganda and proxy wars. This period lasted from 1947 to 1991 and the events within this space race were fueled by the desire to demonstrate political and sociological superiority over the other system of governance. However, while the Space Race of the 1960s had only two major parties involved, the current events are based on the involvement of a variety of nations in addition to commercial organisations. Countries involved include the United States of America, India, China, Japan and various European countries. This does not account for the various other independent space organisations, such as SpaceX, which are involved within the establishment of new technologies and strategies to promote and further space exploration. Cooperation between various parties has also been established to achieve higher impacts on the advancement of space exploration such as the partnership of NASA with SpaceX and Boeing as part of the Commercial Crew Program to transport astronauts into space or the continuing cooperation on the ISS between various countries, including Japan, Canada, Europe and the US to conduct experiments and maintain a base for exploration outside Earth, although there are threats to the future of this due to the political conflict with Russia. Overall, the countries involved within space exploration and the political environment surrounding the development of technology are highly different, so does this mean that the current events cannot be labelled a space race in the same intense, high stakes way the Cold War one was? Technology Another critical aspect of any space race is the technologies being developed during the period and, while significantly more technology is available today than ever before, some of the new technologies generated are targeted at resolving similar issues as were previously targeted in the 1960s. The main objectives then were targeted at going beyond the Earth and gaining some dominance outside of the planet. At first, these were mainly a variety of satellites launched into Earth orbit. However, as the space programmes developed further, ambitions turned to the Moon, partly for its political symbolism. One of the first events credited to the Space Race was the launch of the first satellite - Sputnik 1- created by the U.S.S.R to test the possibility of launching satellites into space as well as obtaining basic information on the atmosphere. Following that, the United States launched Explorer 1, equipped with a ray detector to measure the effect of radiation on the atmosphere. The first aircraft capable of supporting a human was the Vostok 1, the aim of which was to eject the person with the aircraft into a parachuted seat after they were lifted 7 km above ground. Perhaps the most advanced technological developments during the Space Race of the 1960s was the Apollo programme with Apollo 8 becoming the first rocket to sustain a human flight around the Moon and Apollo 11 hosting the first human landing on the surface of the Moon. The purpose of the programme was to further scientific exploration outside of the Earth and to promote the development of human survival on the surface of the Moon. This was perhaps the main goal of all previous technologies developed throughout the Space Race in the 1960s. The technology developed recently has been vastly different, though some of the critical goals of space exploration remain similar despite the passage of time. Recently, there have been a variety of programmes announced to further space exploration and extend the opportunities of humanity including NASA’s Artemis programme, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and the collaboration between Japan and the United States to send Japanese astronauts into space. Recently, a Chinese programme, called Chang’e was established to verify the chemical composition of the lunar surface and, eventually, to soft-land on the side of the moon opposite to the one visible from Earth. The Artemis programme is another large space exploration programme established recently by NASA, and the principal purpose of this mission is to enable long-term exploration of the moon and Mars through elements such as the Orion spacecraft and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. In order to carry out this vision, other space companies have been involved, such as SpaceX, which generated various necessary elements such as Starship - a launch vehicle - and the Dragon, designed to transport astronauts into low orbit, and, possibly, to the moon and Mars as technologies advance. Boeing has also been involved within the Artemis programme through manufacture of parts of the booster rockets to launch the crew and Orion spacecraft into space.The Orion spacecraft itself is a complex combination of previously-designed elements such as the heat shield, the consumable storage system, and reaction control system thrusters, an accomplishment which was unimaginable in the 1960s. Despite the drastic differences in the technologies developed in the Space Race of the 1960s and the current advancements, some of the goals remain, such as the central role of the moon. Competition or development? Ultimately, to determine whether current events could be considered a space race, it is critical to understand whether they are tied to a certain quality and intensity of competition or whether they are simply part of general global development and advancements within science. In the 1960s, the space race was centred around warring systems of governance. However, recent developments have relied on some cooperation with various space programmes, and yet, is there more to the seemingly non-competitive arrangement of space missions? A potential illustration of this competition is the shift in India’s space exploration profile. Previously, the missions launched by India were targeted at boosting economic and social benefits for the country and society. However, in recent times, the interests have shifted to more visible programmes, with more high-profile exploration and prominence within the space efforts of other nations. One of the explanations for this sudden change in the Indian space programme is international pressure, which, in this case, was arguably mainly due to the advancement of the Chinese space programme. In recent years, China has established two independent space stations, promoted the launch of astronauts into space, facilitated the establishment of multiple probes and rovers on the moon and is planning to further assert the country’s presence in space. Furthermore, space exploration could be used to enhance national security, with China’s military presence being a threat to India, which is claimed to be another driver for the expansion of Indian space exploration. India has launched various satellites in order to enhance knowledge of areas surrounding the borders of the country after the Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008 to avoid reliance on navigation from other nations and to allow communication between various military units. China conducted a series of anti-satellite tests in 2007, leading to concerns over India’s existing satellites and to the establishment of the country’s own anti-satellite missions. If India’s goal lies in military protection, it would not be the first country to establish a space programme accordingly. In 2019, the United States military gained a new branch, the Space Force, a programme targeted at training personnel and ensuring collaboration with companies such as Boeing to provide additional national security. Israel has also attempted to get involved with the usage of intelligence satellites through the launch of Ofeq 3, and while this was not wholly successful, Israel has conducted further attempts to increase monitoring through satellites. The Japanese military also relies on satellites to establish accurate and independent communication and countries such as South Korea and Turkey both have satellites capable of providing accurate imaging. Recently, stress has been further laid on the necessity of space exploration as a form of defence. Could this be moving in the direction of a new militaristic space race? While the current progress with space exploration may seem unrelated to the events of the 1960s, some of the goals, such as the ones regarding lunar exploration remain and the urgency to generate an effective space programme has risen. The importance of space exploration has been emphasised through competition over having a dominant presence in space as well as the mining of potential resources, however, it is uncertain what will happen in the future. It is likely that, not long into the future, space tourism would expand vastly in popularity and efforts towards the colonisation and exploration of the Moon would be redoubled in strength, however, nobody could say in which direction our further efforts would bring humanity. Could humans set foot on Mars for the first time and could colonisation be possible? Would space exploration extend beyond the Milky Way and who will be the major players involved? Could we find extraterrestrial planets and even life, and if so, what would be the implications? Works cited “Amerikabomber.” Wikipedia, 13 Dec. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerikabomber. Britannica. “Cold War | Causes, Facts, & Summary.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Jan. 2024, www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War. Chang, Kenneth. “Jeff Bezos’ Big Rocket Moves into View and Closer to Launch.” The New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/science/bezos-blue-origin-rocket.html. Dooling, Dave. “Chang’e.” SpaceNext50 | Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 May 2019, www.britannica.com/explore/space/change/. “Gateway - NASA.” NASA, www.nasa.gov/mission/gateway/. Howell, Elizabeth. “The New Space Race.” SpaceNext50 | Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Aug. 2019, www.britannica.com/explore/space/the-new-space-race/#:~:text=Space%20exploration%20today%20is%20a. J. 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