Parties to the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty recognised “the common interest of all mankind in the progress of the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes” and declared their belief that “the exploration and use of outer space should be carried on for the benefit of all peoples irrespective of the degree of their economic or scientific development”. In recent decades, though, space technology has often been treated by nations as a tool for gaining national power and status. The era saw treaties that expressed aspirations for international cooperation and the betterment of humankind. With the launch of Sputnik in 1957 and Yuri Gagarin’s space flight in 1961, Russia’s spacefaring marked the dawn of a new age.
If spacefaring nations can set aside geopolitics, the hope and cooperation that characterised the dawn of the space age will come to the fore once again. Picture: The Presidential Press and Information Office, Wikimedia Commons : The Presidential Press and Information Office, Wikimedia Commons
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are close allies, both on Earth and in matters beyond.
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