Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen had an emotional message before he and three colleagues set off for the Moon earlier this year on the Artemis II mission: “We go for all humanity”.

The successful ten-day lunar flyby mission was an impressive scientific feat. But its importance may not have been for all humanity: it was primarily geopolitical. Because, just like the 20th century space race between the Soviets and Americans, the new race to return to the Moon is highly politically charged.

To stop this race from morphing into a future catastrophe – one that could have debilitating consequences for life on Earth – there’s an urgent need to strengthen how space is governed. Only by fostering a deeper sense of “space citizenship” will all of humanity benefit from our journeys to the Moon – and beyond.

The race to the Moon and beyond is accelerating. Some say it’s for the benefit of all humanity. But is it really? In this seven-part series, we explore what our future in space will look like, how we might travel and survive out there, and what’s needed to stop a catastrophe from happening.

From space race to space war

The new space race involves many more players than the first one. It includes Canada, China, Europe, India, Japan, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and, of course, the US. It also includes private companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Space Machines, Intuitive Machines, iSpace, and many others.

And why do they all want to reach the Moon? Because it contains resources – water and possibly helium-3 – which can be used as fuel. Whoever has access to, and........

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