In January 2026, the White House signed a decree that went almost unnoticed. The United States officially extends its military defense perimeter to the Moon. A few weeks later, on April 1st, NASA launches Artemis II from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. These two events are not independent. As four astronauts prepare to fly over the lunar surface, the Pentagon is watching the same Moon but with very different eyes.
China has already landed spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, tested satellites in cislunar orbits in 2024, and aims for a manned lunar landing before 2030. The U.S. Space Force, however, lacks the sensors, doctrine, and personnel to monitor this space. This delay is a cause for concern. And Artemis II is just the beginning of the American response.
For decades, the Moon was seen as a territory for science and exploration. This era is over. Since the early 2020s, a belief has gradually taken hold within the U.S. Pentagon. The cislunar space – the vast region extending from geosynchronous orbit to the Moon and beyond – is becoming a strategic domain.
In December 2025, President Trump signed a decree titled “Ensuring American Space Superiority,” which formalizes this vision. The United States must be able to detect, characterize, and counter any threat from low Earth orbit to cislunar space. This text marks a turning point. For the first time, the White House officially extends the U.S. defense perimeter to the Moon. The reason for this concern? China.
Beijing is not only preparing for a manned lunar landing before 2030 but also considers Lagrange points, lunar transfer orbits, and the lunar surface as “critical strategic points.” These could be used to exert influence over the entire Earth-Moon system. The Chang’e-5 mission in December 2020 brought back samples containing helium-3, a rare isotope with significant military and energy applications. By May 2024, Chang’e-6 had landed in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the Moon. Beijing also launched several satellites into cislunar orbits in 2024 to test communications and navigation capabilities.
This competition goes beyond technology. What Washington fears is that Beijing establishes legal, physical, and diplomatic facts on the Moon before the U.S. can respond. Analysts warn that China could use “lawfare” tactics to justify exclusion zones, change customary international law norms, and establish its own rules of behavior in cislunar space.
In response to this perceived threat, the Pentagon has begun taking action. Several programs aim to observe the Moon’s surroundings before considering intervention. Programs like Oracle, LASSO, and CHPS are among the first U.S. military tools being developed for space surveillance.
While concerns about technical obstacles remain, the Pentagon is already taking steps to address them. By developing these tools for surveillance in cislunar space, the U.S. aims to stay ahead in this new domain of military competition.
These initiatives highlight the growing importance of space as a strategic domain and the increasing competition among global powers for dominance beyond Earth’s orbit.
