Examining the Role of Commercial Stakeholders in Cislunar Governance

Paper number

IAC-25,E3,4,7,x102885

Author

Dr. Mariel Borowitz, United States

Year

2025

Abstract

Civil, military, and commercial actors across a range of countries have expressed an interest in engaging in activity on or near the Moon. The United States and its allies are developing plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis Program. Russia and China have announced plans to develop a joint Lunar base. Europe, India, the United Arab Emirates, and others have also announced interest in conducting cislunar missions. Commercial entities in the United States and elsewhere are developing Lunar landers and rovers and developing concepts for Lunar stations and resource extraction capabilities, both in cooperation with the government and, sometimes, through independent efforts.  

Given this breadth of interest, efforts are required to ensure that engagement on the Moon and in cislunar space proceeds in a peaceful manner and that conflict is avoided. Issues such as the placement of Lunar bases, the coordination of systems operating in Lunar orbit, Lunar resource utilization, and commercial Lunar activities all have the potential to raise contentious issues. Without attention to these concerns in advance, activities in this area pose potential security risks. 

This project presents an in-depth study of commercial entities active in cislunar activities to understand how these actors may play a role in the formation of an international regime for cislunar space. The study builds on document analysis and interviews with key stakeholders to address questions such as:
\begin{itemize}\item What are these entities’ interests or goals with respect to cislunar activity?\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item What is the role of cislunar activity in relevant global or regional politics for this actor?\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item What are the civil, military, or commercial interests related to cislunar activity within this actor?\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item What are their perspectives on, or attitudes toward, current cislunar regime approaches, such as the Outer Space Treaty, Moon Treaty, or Artemis Accords\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item What are their preferences with regards to the process of regime building, including industry-led, bottom-up development, bilateral discussion, or multilateral discussion - either within existing organizations, such as the United Nations, or outside these organizations.\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item What are their perspectives with regard to the form or level of formality of the regime, including optins such as norms of behavior, non-binding principles, or binding treaties.\end{itemize}
The study ends with a discussion of how an understanding of the preferences and approaches of commercial cislunar stakeholders can help to ensure the development of a more robust and effective cislunar governance regime.

Abstract document

IAC-25,E3,4,7,x102885.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-25,E3,4,7,x102885.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.