Equitable access to lunar scientific resources under geopolitical fragmentation
open
Australia, Oceania
WS04744
Lunar infrastructure and resource extraction could create new strategic inequalities. The challenge is developing rules that enable science and commercial activity while protecting shared interests and preventing territorial competition. The design must remain functional when standards, trade routes, data access, and diplomatic cooperation are unreliable. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.