Russia, India, Japan, China, the United Arab Emirates, the U.S., the European Space agency, etc. are all sending robots on the Moon or on Mars. On 26 September 2022, the U.S. NASA purposefully projected a spacecraft on asteroid Dimorphos. Such was the precision and the force of the impact that it opened a crater in …
Continue reading “The New Space Race (1) – The BRICS and Space Mining”
Is space mining the short and long-term future for energy and industry? Nowadays, this question is rooted in the rapid development of the industrial, financial, technological and legal apparatus around the idea of mining asteroids. For example, on 6 January 2015, the US President, then Barack Obama, signed the US commercial space launch competitiveness act. …
Continue reading “Space Mining, Artificial Intelligence and Transition?”
This article focuses on the Russian part of the mammoth space cooperation developed between Russia and China and potential geopolitical impacts. This cooperation is further reinforced by the agreement signed the 1 November 2017 that involves six space-related areas, such as lunar and deep space, joint spacecraft development, space electronics, Earth remote sensing data and space debris monitoring (“China, Russia agree cooperation on lunar and deep space exploration, other sectors”, Global Times, Nov 02, 2017). The Chinese part was addressed in the first article of the series. This Sino-Russian cooperation is a de facto synergy about a new definition of industrial and strategic power. Indeed, space industry evolutions as well as the convergence of Chinese and Russian artificial intelligence strategies added to robotic development …
Continue reading “The Chinese-Russian Robot and Space Strategic Cooperation (2) – Russia”
On 1 November 2017, Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang signed a mammoth deal in space cooperation. That agreement involves six space-related areas, such as lunar and deep space, joint spacecraft development, space electronics, Earth remote sensing data and space debris monitoring (“China, Russia agree cooperation on lunar and deep space exploration, other …
Continue reading “The Chinese-Russian Robot and Space Strategic Cooperation (1) – China”
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is devising a grand strategy to ensure its global security during the 21st century. In 2010, the UAE’s government published the “UAE Vision 2021”, establishing the will “to ensure a sustainable development”. In 2011, the UAE’s political authorities created a national marine environment research centre. In 2014, they created the …
Continue reading “The UAE Grand Strategy for the Future – from Earth to Space”
On 25 May 2015, the Chinese political authorities agreed to finance the building of a pipeline between Pakistan and Iran, dubbed the “peace pipe line” (Valantin, “China, and the new silk road: the Pakistani strategy”, The Red Team Analysis Society, May 18, 2015). As we saw, this agreement is part of the Chinese strategy called “the New Silk Road”, which is defined by the concept of “One belt, One road”. The “road” is aimed at creating a worldwide “land and sea” system (“Belt and Road Nations account for 26 per cent of China’s trade”, The Beijing Review, April 29, 2015), in order to attract supplies and diverse resources much-needed by the rapidly growing Chinese economy and urban development. Each “segment” of …
Continue reading “China and the New Silk Road: From Oil Wells to the Moon… and Beyond”
In February 2013, the fall of a meteor in Russia’s Urals (e.g. “Meteorite hits Russian Urals: Fireball explosion wreaks havoc, up to 1,200 injured“, RT, 15 Feb 2013), added to the close fly-by of Asteroid 2012 DA14, and to reports of a meteorite sighted over Cuba, reignited a renewed interest for near-earth objects (NEOs), notably because of the threat they may constitute to the earth and its inhabitants. Yet, NEOs are not only about dangers and Armageddon scenarios, they may also well be an opportunity. The possibility to use resources from space also exists and may be seen as a major wild card, which could completely upset most scenarios on resources and energy issues, thus constituting a “grey swan,” to use Taleb’s terminology.From dream to …
Continue reading “Beyond Fear of Near-Earth Objects: Mining Resources from Space?”
The aim of the Space Resources and Security Sigils is to be a daily scan focusing on space and international security. We are currently investigating new AI ways to deliver an even better Space Resources and Security Sigils. The original complimentary version ran from May 2012 to April 2023. An opening article on the importance of space …
