India’s moon landing is no mean achievement. It is the time to ensure that nations  cooperate in space exploration and do not compete in outerspace

The success of the Chandrayan-3 landing is a great achievement for our scientific community and the nation as a whole. Only three nations, namely the Soviet Union, the United States, and China have achieved successful soft landings on the Moon. But nobody has landed in the south pole, a region whose shadowed craters are thought to contain water ice that could support a future moon settlement. Our space scientists have made the country proud and Chandrayan-3 success will be written in the annals of lunar soils in golden letters.

Also, our scientific prowess in developing space vehicles at a competitive price has caught international attention. The Chandrayaan-3 was launched with a budget of approximately 6.15 billion rupees, which is equivalent to $74 million.

 Now the question that lingers on the lunar horizon is: what comes next? Who is the custodian of Lunar soil? Will there be competition among the countries in exploiting the resources from the moon? Will the future war be fought in outer space as we visualize in science fiction movies?

When we start establishing ourselves as a multiplanet species more such questions need to be debated. When more countries join the race to conquer the Moon we need to control the human activities there. Otherwise, it will damage its environment similar to what we have done to planet Earth. Controlling human activities on the Moon requires a combination of international cooperation, established guidelines, regulatory frameworks, and responsible practices. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) plays a central role in facilitating global collaboration for the peaceful utilization and exploration of outer space. UNOOSA serves as the Secretariat for the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), which is the primary international forum for discussing space-related issues and developing space law. COPUOS oversees the development of various space treaties and reviews and approves various space-related guidelines and recommendations.

Moon Agreement (1984): The Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies addresses the exploitation and use of the Moon's resources and other celestial bodies. It emphasizes the concept of the "common heritage of mankind" and sets out principles for the equitable sharing of benefits from lunar resources.

In addition to these endeavours, NASA has initiated the Artemis Accords in collaboration with numerous partner nations. Presently, 27 countries, including India, have become signatories to this accord. The Artemis Accords provide a pragmatic framework of principles intended to steer collaborative space exploration efforts among nations involved in NASA's lunar exploration initiatives of the 21st century. Meanwhile, Russia and China are working together on the development of their forthcoming lunar outpost, referred to as the International Lunar Research Station.

It's sure that countries shall show their strength in space also that is not good for humanity. We need to consider the whole universe as a common property. Raising above the nationalistic feelings we need to consider ourselves as the children of a common ancestor and need to formulate regulations that support the cause of human survival.

Moon or for that matter any outer space planets we are looking for our establishment and survival should be considered as ‘ common heritage of humankind’. The benefits of activities carried out on the Moon by various countries should be equitably shared among the nations and no single power should be allowed to exploit its resources. 

(The writer is a science communicator and an adjunct faculty at NIAS, Bangalore)