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takyon writes:

U.S. Space Force sees future demand for surveillance beyond Earth orbit

An international race back to the moon is already underway, with the United States, China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates all at various stages of planning future lunar missions.

Growing activity in outer space beyond Earth orbit — known as xGEO or cislunar space — could turn this region into a contested domain as countries seek access to lunar resources and stake out areas of jurisdiction. As a result, the U.S. military will likely have to pay more attention to what's happening in xGEO, said Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of the U.S. Space Force's Space Operations Command.

"We are now seeing other actors go to the moon, go to lunar orbit and we do need to be concerned and interested in what they are doing there," Whiting said May 16 at a Mitchell Institute event.

Current sensors used by the military for space domain awareness were designed to track satellites in Earth orbits, at distances of 36,000 kilometers or closer, and not for cislunar space which extends out 385,000 kilometers and has different orbital trajectories. Scientists have pointed out that most activities in cislunar space are largely unmonitored and only self-reported.

Whiting noted that keeping watch of Earth orbit alone is "a huge challenge" but nevertheless the military has to prepare to extend its surveillance capabilities.

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