The Pentagon may become a possible defender of future NASA bases on the Moon. Departments are stepping up cooperation between civil and military projects amid external threats, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources.
It is noted that the Pentagon’s protection will also extend to American commercial operations for the extraction of water and minerals on the Moon. The departments also plan to study the region around the moon and extend the service life of satellites. Many project details are classified or under development.
As the newspaper emphasizes, the reason for this pooling of efforts was the growing external threat from Moscow and Beijing, which are aimed at challenging American space interests. In particular, this can be done with anti-satellite weapons, jammers and other “potentially hostile technologies,” the article says.