US Space Force Should Prepare to Put Active-Duty Troops on the Moon, Report Argues

Key Points:

• The U.S. and China are both aiming to build a human habitat at the lunar south pole, competing to secure resources and establish a permanent Moon base amid an unregulated frontier.
• A recent Mitchell Institute report advocates for a U.S. military human spaceflight program, proposing deployment of active-duty Space Force personnel on the Moon and orbital stations to counter China’s military space ambitions.
• The report highlights concerns over China’s rapid progress with its Tiangong space station and lunar plans, warning that China may gain strategic advantage in setting lunar norms and standards.
• Despite China’s official stance on peaceful space cooperation, the report cites China’s history of territorial aggression and urges the U.S. to prepare for potential conflict, even though the 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans military activities on celestial bodies.
• The paper calls for the Space Force to develop Title 10-authorized military human spaceflight capabilities to secure U.S. interests and infrastructure from low Earth orbit to the Moon, emphasizing that control over this domain will determine future space governance.