15. July 2025 / 6:00 - 8:00 pm /

The moon and the cislunar space surrounding it are increasingly becoming the focus of astropolitical and technological competition. The new race to the moon has long been more than just a symbolic prestige project for individual states: It is about long-term strategic control over future communication, navigation and raw materials infrastructures beyond the Earth's atmosphere. The moon and the region between it and the earth are becoming a highly relevant space in terms of security policy, in which technological superiority and regulatory standards are being renegotiated. The USA, China, Russia and the EU, as well as other players such as India and Japan and various private space companies, are investing heavily in lunar missions and orbital expansion - also against the strategic backdrop of further plans for future Mars missions.

The discussion event will look at the astropolitical significance of the moon and the space surrounding it from a security policy, economic, scientific and military perspective. What interests are the actors pursuing? What are the long-term political, economic and military implications of the development of cislunar space? And how should Germany and Europe shape their own strategic positioning with regard to the moon?

The focus is on questions of global power projection, normative concepts of order and possible lines of conflict in an already highly contested space. The aim of the event is to create a better understanding of the significant strategic dynamics that will foreseeably shape the astropolitical race to the moon and the future order in near-Earth space. The event is aimed at a broad audience with an interest in international relations, security policy and future technologies.

Registration for the event is not required.

Opening:
Dr. Enrico Fels, Managing Director of CASSIS

Greeting:
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Reinhold Ewald, Space Ambassador of North Rhine-Westphalia

Panel:
Sabine von der Recke, Board Member OHB

Dr.-Ing. Walther Pelzer, Member of the DLR Executive Board and Head of the German Space Agency at DLR

General Michael Traut, Head of Space Command of the Bundeswehr

Moderation:
Michael Krons, Journalist