{{Short description|Renewed 21st-century competition in space exploration}} {{About|the renewed competition in space exploration|attempts to land a human on Mars|Mars race|other space races|List of space races|other uses of the term|Space Race (disambiguation)}} {{redirect|Second Space Race|the first space race and the race to the Moon|Space Race}} [[File:Artemis Base Camp.png|thumb|Artist's impression of Artemis Base Camp]] {{Spaceflight sidebar}}

The '''New Space Race'''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Riley |first=Patrick |title=The New Space Race |url=https://www.britannica.com/story/new-space-race-map-and-timeline-infographic |access-date=April 10, 2026 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 8, 2026 |title=The New Space Race |url=https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/the-new-space-race/ |access-date=April 10, 2026 |website=Aerospace America |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=The New Space Race {{!}} Power & Politics in 21st Century |url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/space-astronomy/new-space-race-astropolitics-power-21st-century |access-date=April 10, 2026 |website=Royal Museums Greenwich |language=en}}</ref> or '''Second Space Race'''<ref>Fawkes, Steven (October 2006), ''[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259324441_The_Second_Space_Race The Second Space Race]'', Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, vol. 59, p. 364–367</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Emerson |first=Andrew Michael |date=January 25, 2022 |title=The Second Space Race: Democratic Outcomes for the Future of Space |url=https://gjia.georgetown.edu/science-technology/the-second-space-race-democratic-outcomes-for-the-future-of-space/ |access-date=April 10, 2026 |website=Georgetown Journal of International Affairs |language=en}}</ref> describes the renewed competition in space exploration and technological development in the 21st century. This modern race is characterized by a broad range of objectives, including a return to crewed lunar landings, establishing a permanent moonbase,<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dangwal |first=Ashish |date=November 22, 2023 |title=1st Country With Lunar Outpost, Competition 'Heating-Up' Between US-Led Artemis & China's ILRS |url=https://www.eurasiantimes.com/new-artemis-or-china-led-international-lunar-research-station/ |access-date=April 10, 2026 |website=Latest Asian, Middle-East, EurAsian, Indian News |language=en-US}}</ref> crewed missions to Mars,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Moon to Mars {{!}} NASA's Artemis Program |url=https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis/ |access-date=April 10, 2026 |language=en-US|website=NASA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Auslender |first=Viki |date=October 1, 2023 |title=The new space race: Mars, the Moon, and the new political frontier |url=https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/ryjnpsiga |access-date=April 10, 2026 |website=ctech |language=en}}</ref> large satellite constellations,<ref>{{cite web |date=June 10, 2019 |title=On the increasing number of satellite constellations |url=https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann19029/ |website=European Southern Observatory |access-date=April 10, 2026 |language=en}}</ref> and advancements in reusable launch technology.<ref name=":2" />

The Cold War-era Space Race was primarily a geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union to achieve superior spaceflight capability. The New Space Race is more multipolar, including the national space programs from China, Europe, India, Japan, Russia and the United States. Some have argued the competition is part of the Second Cold War,<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=King |first=Ryan Erik |date=2025-04-23 |title=U.S. Blocking Countries From Hitching Ride With Rival Moon Base Project, China Claims |url=https://www.jalopnik.com/1842246/us-blocks-countries-rival-moon-base-project-china-claim/ |access-date=2026-05-10 |website=Jalopnik |language=en-US}}</ref> pointing to the alignment under the US-led Artemis Accords with Europe, India, and Japan, contrasted with the China and Russia-led International Lunar Research Station.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Andrew |date=2024-06-12 |title=ESA-China moon cooperation could end with Chang’e-6 |url=https://spacenews.com/esa-china-moon-cooperation-could-end-with-change-6/ |access-date=2026-05-07 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}}</ref>

The concept includes the "billionaire space race": increasing involvement of private aerospace companies, such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic, competing in the growing launch services, space tourism, and satellite internet constellation markets.

==Rivalries== The primary race is between the government space agencies of the United States and China.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gebrekidan |first=Selam |date=April 2, 2026 |title=The Race for the Future of the Moon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/02/world/space-artemis-us-china-trump-iran-pam-bondi.html |access-date=April 10, 2026 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Glasner |first=Eli |date=April 4, 2026 |title=The new space race: Why the U.S. and China are racing to the moon |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/space-race-us-china-moon-9.7150635 |access-date=April 10, 2026 |work=CBC News}}</ref> In the 2020s, both the US and China are engaged in an effort to establish a permanent presence on the Moon, with an emphasis on the Lunar south pole, as a proving ground and stepping stone to Mars. The US uses its Artemis program and China uses its Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 1, 2023 |title=The new space race: Mars, the Moon, and the new political frontier |url=https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/ryjnpsiga |access-date=April 12, 2026 |website=ctech |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Berger |first=Eric |date=May 3, 2024 |title=NASA hasn't landed on the Moon in decades—China just sent its third in six years |url=https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/05/china-just-launched-another-ambitious-lunar-mission-is-nasa-falling-behind/ |access-date=April 12, 2026 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref>

In April 2026, the Artemis II mission returned US astronauts to the vicinity of the Moon for the first time since the Apollo Program, included the first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit (Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen), and set the record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from the Earth.<ref name="Graf 2026-04-06">{{Cite web |last=Graf |first=Abby |date=April 6, 2026 |title=Artemis II Flight Day 6: Lunar Flyby Updates |url=https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/04/06/artemis-ii-flight-day-6-lunar-flyby-updates/ |access-date=April 6, 2026 |website=NASA |language=en-US }}</ref><ref name="space.com timeline">{{cite web |website=space.com |title=NASA Artemis 2 astronauts to make historic moon flyby today. Here's what to expect hour by hour (timeline) |url=https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/nasa-artemis-2-astronauts-to-make-historic-moon-flyby-today-heres-what-to-expect-hour-by-hour-timeline |access-date=April 6, 2026 |date=April 6, 2026|last=Malik|first=Tariq}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wall |first=Mike |date=April 6, 2026 |title=Artemis 2 breaks humanity's all-time distance record during historic loop around the moon |url=https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/artemis-2-breaks-humanitys-all-time-distance-record-during-historic-loop-around-the-moon }}</ref>

Other nations, such as Russia, India,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last1=Kumar |first1=Hari |last2=Travelli |first2=Alex |last3=Mashal |first3=Mujib |last4=Chang |first4=Kenneth |date=August 23, 2023 |title=India Moon Landing: In Latest Moon Race, India Lands First in Southern Polar Region |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/08/23/science/india-moon-landing-chandrayaan-3 |url-status=live |access-date=April 10, 2026 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bhattacharjee |first=Nivedita |date=January 22, 2025 |title=India File: Jostling for position in the space race |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-file-jostling-position-space-race-2025-01-22/ |access-date=April 10, 2026 |work=Reuters}}</ref> Japan,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cooper |first1=Chris |last2=Matsuda |first2=Kiyotaka |date=November 29, 2016 |title=The U.S. and China Are Fighting Over Mars, but Japan May Win the Space Race |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2016-asia-space-race/japan.html |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=April 10, 2026}}</ref> as well as European countries,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Desmarais |first=Anna |date=November 24, 2025 |title=The new space race: These are the different space strategies across Europe |url=https://www.euronews.com/next/2025/11/24/the-new-space-race-these-are-the-different-space-strategies-across-europe |access-date=April 10, 2026 |work=Euronews}}</ref> are also active participants. In this regard, India has already made significant progress with missions such as Chandrayaan-3, which successfully landed near the lunar south polar region on 23 August 2023, making it one of the few nations to achieve a soft landing on the Moon and the first to land near the lunar south pole.<ref name=":4" />

===Summary table=== {{Excerpt|List of government space agencies|Extraterrestrial exploration capability}}

==Governance== {{See also|Space law}} Some have argued the New Space Race is a component of the Second Cold War concept,<ref name=":12" /> pointing to the alignment under the US-led Artemis Accords with Europe, India, and Japan, contrasted with the China and Russia-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).<ref name=":6" /> {{As of|2026|5}}, 67 nations have joined the Artemis Accords, predominantly in the Global North and Latin America, while 13 nations have joined the ILRS, predominantly in the Global South. China and Russia initially hoped to attract major European states to the project, but the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was seen as ending these efforts.<ref name=":62">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Andrew |date=2024-06-12 |title=ESA-China moon cooperation could end with Chang’e-6 |url=https://spacenews.com/esa-china-moon-cooperation-could-end-with-change-6/ |access-date=2026-05-07 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}}</ref>

Some scholars have argued the substance of the Accords is "uncontentious" and represent a "significant political attempt to codify key principles of space law" for governing nations' space activities.<ref name="Newman 2020">{{cite web |last=Newman |first=Christopher |date=October 19, 2020 |title=Artemis Accords: why many countries are refusing to sign Moon exploration agreement |url=http://theconversation.com/artemis-accords-why-many-countries-are-refusing-to-sign-moon-exploration-agreement-148134 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625095410/https://theconversation.com/artemis-accords-why-many-countries-are-refusing-to-sign-moon-exploration-agreement-148134 |archive-date=June 25, 2022 |access-date=June 17, 2021 |website=The Conversation}}</ref> China and Russia have criticized the Accords' framework for lunar mining as too favorable to US interests, with China describing them as "akin to European colonial enclosure land-taking methods."<ref name="The Diplomat 2020">{{cite web |last1=Ji |first1=Elliot |last2=Cerny |first2=Michael B |last3=Piliero |first3=Raphael J |date=September 17, 2020 |title=What Does China Think About NASA's Artemis Accords? |url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/what-does-china-think-about-nasas-artemis-accords/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202143759/https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/what-does-china-think-about-nasas-artemis-accords/ |archive-date=February 2, 2022 |access-date= |website=The Diplomat}}</ref><ref name="pmid33033208">{{cite journal |vauthors=Boley A, Byers M |year=2020 |title=U.S. policy puts the safe development of space at risk |journal=Science |volume=370 |issue=6513 |pages=174–175 |bibcode=2020Sci...370..174B |doi=10.1126/science.abd3402 |pmid=33033208 |s2cid=222211122}}</ref>

==Private sector involvement== {{Main|Private spaceflight|Billionaire space race}}

Unlike the original Space Race during the Cold War era, private aerospace companies play a massive role in the New Space Race, with SpaceX and Blue Origin developing launch technology and services.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> This private spaceflight race involves sending privately developed rockets and vehicles to various destinations in space, often in response to government programs or to develop the space tourism sector.<ref>{{cite book |author=Guthrie |first=Julian |title=How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight |date=2016 |publisher=Penguin Press |isbn=978-1-59420-672-6}}</ref>

In October 2025, NASA announced that it would reopen competition to develop its Human Landing System for the Artemis III mission, planning to use Space X's Starship HLS or Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2, or both, depending on which was ready. NASA's Acting Administrator Sean Duffy said, "SpaceX has the contract to build the HLS which will get U.S. astronauts there on Artemis III. But, competition and innovation are the keys to our dominance in space so NASA is opening up HLS production to Blue Origin and other great American companies."<ref>{{cite web |last=Edwards |first=Brook |date=October 20, 2025 |title=NASA reopens competition for Artemis lunar lander contract |url=https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/spacex/2025/10/20/with-spacex-starship-slow-to-progress-nasa-reopens-artemis-iii-contract-blue-origin/86802546007/ |publisher=Florida Today|access-date=May 30, 2026}}</ref>

==See also== * Timeline of spaceflight * Timeline of Solar System exploration * Timeline of space exploration * Human presence in space ==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== * Cantrell, Jim (2023). ''Breaking All The Rules: The Inside Story of the New Race''. Space Cowboy. {{ISBN|978-1960546944}}. * {{cite book |title=Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race |author=Fernholz |first=Tim |year=2018 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=978-1-328-66223-1}} * Seedhouse, Erik (2009). ''The New Space Race: China vs. USA''. Springer. {{ISBN|144190879X}}.

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