Shackleton Ridge Showdown: How one Crater could trigger a Space Crisis

Both the American-led Artemis programme and the Chinese-led International Lunar Research Station are planning on establishing bases near the lunar south pole.

With all the key resources and locations within a small geographical region the possibility of conflict arises. This video examines why only a few locations in the south lunar pole are suitable for establishing a base camp and potential trigger points between China and the US.

---------------
Love learning about space startups? Your support helps me research deeper, produce higher-quality videos, and keep this content coming! Even a small coffee fuels the next big idea. ☕

Support here: https://buymeacoffee.com/spacestartupnews
---------------

Follow on X: https://x.com/SpaceStartupHub

00:00 Intro
01:26 Requirements for a Base Camp
01:35 Near-Constant Sunlight
02:12 Extractable Lunar Resources
02:33 Flat or Easily Traversable Terrain
03:05 Rover Access to Craters and Science Targets
03:42 Thermal Environment
04:10 High Ground
04:34 Safety Zones: International De-confliction (Emerging Factor)
04:49 Moonquakes (Emerging Factor)
06:15 Key Locations Near the Lunar South Pole
06:18 Shackleton–de Gerlache connecting ridge
06:48 Peaks of Eternal Light (PELs)
07:37 Malapert Mountain area ( Malapert Massif )
08:45 Mons Mouton Plateau
09:12 Chang’e-7: China’s Key Mission For Lunar South Pole Selection
10:13 Triggering Events That Could Lead to a Clash
11:51 Orbital and Communication Interference
13:14 Final Thoughts
14:20 Outro

Sources:

Artemis III Landing Region Candidates: https://youtu.be/ocDzndmmE8I

Change’e 7 (Chinese Lander targeting rim of Shackleton Crater): https://grokipedia.com/page/Chang'e_7

Chinese ILRS (International Lunar Research Station) [PDF]: https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/copuos/2023/TPs/ILRS_presentation20230529_.pdf

Artemis Science: Exploring the Moon’s South Pole: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14886/