Space Race 2.0 has started, and the winner—America or Communist China—will define the future of humanity.
The space race was a critical determining factor in the Cold War. After its Sputnik miracle, the Soviets’ loss of the race to the Moon undermined the international mystique of Communism and crushed the USSR’s dreams of world domination. America’s wildly successful Apollo program, by sharp contrast, brought America global glory and prestige—along with a plethora of “miracle technologies” that accelerated economic growth and strengthened US national security for half a century.
We are now embroiled with a brutal and autocratic Communist China in a new cold war and second, far more consequential, race to the Moon—whichever country seizes the commanding heights of the moon will have preferential access to vast lunar resources that will determine the quality of life on Earth and the political and moral character of the human diaspora as it advances into the solar system.
America should win Space Race 2.0 and is leading an international and commercial coalition to do so. Yet, Communist China is giving no ground even as its rockets soar above us. The clear risk: Timid and visionless policy makers in the White House and Congress may well surrender the ultimate high ground to the butchers of Beijing.
Greg Autry and Peter Navarro have been warning of this competition for more than a decade. Both were influential in the construction of America’s triumphant space agenda during the Trump administration. In this book, they take you through the technology, economics, and history of this important topic and provide policy recommendations that will win the Space Race for America.
“Space superiority is one of the most important goals for long-term American survival. Greg Autry and Peter Navarro clearly describe the challenges we face in outer space—and the devastating consequences if America cedes space leadership to other nations. The dangers we face are real. If we don’t confront them, the future could be catastrophic for America and the world.” —Newt Gingrich, 50th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
“This superbly researched book is equivalent to the warnings by Winston Churchill in the 1930s regarding the catastrophic failure of leadership by the West to counter Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan before the onset of WWII…. If we prevail in this space race—which makes the one with the Soviets in the 1960s look like child’s play by comparison—the political, social, and economic benefits to the world will be beyond measure.” —Courtney Stadd, Former Director, Commercial Space Policy at the White House National Space Council; Former NASA Chief of Staff; and currently Executive Vice President, Beyond Earth Institute
“This book needs to be on the desk of every official in the Pentagon, Congress, the White House, and the Western World, not to mention everyone who wants to understand the Space Race 2.0 now fully engaged between the USA and China in the context of a world that is increasingly hostile to the values of our American republic and Western civilization in general.” —Homer Hickam, NASA Engineer and Author of Rocket Boys (aka October Sky)
“The threat of the 21st century…the authors nailed it. The United States is an aerospace nation…from the beaches of Kitty Hawk to the International Space Station to the James Webb Space Telescope and beyond…this and all of the benefits of access to and use of space for the betterment of humankind are at risk…. The authors paint a clear picture of the threats to the free use of space from basic commerce to international security. A must-read!” —Major General (Ret.) Lee Levy, Member of the NASA Advisory Council
Here is a clear, structured overview of the main arguments of Red Moon Rising: How America Will Beat China on the Final Frontier (2024) by Greg Autry and Peter Navarro.
1. The central thesis
We are already in a second space race (Space Race 2.0)—
and it is primarily between the United States and China.
- Unlike the Cold War race, this one is:
- more economically consequential
- more militarily integrated
- more long-term (solar system scale)
2. Why space matters now (much more than before)
The authors argue that space is no longer symbolic prestige.
👉 It is now:
(1) Economic infrastructure
- satellites underpin:
- finance
- communication
- navigation
- future resources:
- lunar mining
- energy (e.g. solar power in space)
👉 Whoever controls space controls future economic systems
(2) Military high ground
- space = ultimate strategic high ground
- modern warfare depends on:
- satellites
- GPS
- surveillance
👉 Losing space = losing military superiority
(3) Civilizational future
- expansion beyond Earth
- human settlement of Moon / Mars
👉 Space defines:
“the political and moral character” of humanity’s future
3. China as the primary challenger
The book portrays China as:
- state-driven, long-term, strategic
- integrating:
- military
- industrial policy
- space program
Key claims
- China aims to:
- dominate lunar resources
- control key orbits
- potentially deny access to others
👉 This is framed as an existential geopolitical threat
4. The Moon is the decisive battleground
This is one of the book’s strongest claims:
Whoever controls the Moon controls the future
Why?
- staging ground for Mars
- resource extraction (e.g. helium-3, metals)
- strategic positioning
👉 Their slogan-like logic:
- Get to the Moon first
- Stay on the Moon
- Develop the Moon
5. Critique of past U.S. space policy
The authors argue:
- After Apollo:
- the U.S. lost direction
- Space Shuttle era:
- inefficient
- expensive
- lacking strategic vision
👉 Diagnosis:
America drifted, while China planned
6. The role of the private sector
A key difference from the first space race:
This time, private companies will determine the outcome
They emphasize:
- commercial space (SpaceX, etc.)
- entrepreneurship
- deregulation
👉 Core belief:
Markets + innovation = America’s advantage
7. Policy prescriptions (what the U.S. should do)
The book is strongly prescriptive.
(1) Accelerate lunar return (Artemis)
- prioritize human presence on Moon
(2) Secure property rights in space
- reform treaties to allow:
- ownership
- investment
(3) Strengthen Space Force
- treat space as a war domain
(4) Outcompete China technologically
- rockets
- infrastructure
- energy systems
(5) Align regulation with competition
- reduce bureaucratic barriers
👉 In short:
Act with urgency, or lose the future
8. Tone and ideology of the book
This is important for interpretation.
The book is:
- strongly strategic / geopolitical
- openly anti-China (CCP-focused)
- aligned with a “space hawk” perspective
👉 It is less:
- neutral analysis
and more:
a call to action
9. One-sentence summary
Space is the new decisive domain of power,
and the U.S. must urgently outcompete China—especially on the Moon—or risk losing economic, military, and civilizational leadership.
10. If I translate this into your language (lightly)
This book sees:
- space = ultimate high ground
- Moon = strategic node
- competition = inevitable
But from your perspective, something interesting appears:
👉 It is still a very human-centered narrative
- control
- dominance
- victory
While you are moving toward:
物的歸位，人的復位
👉 So there is a quiet tension:
- their question: Who controls space?
- your question: How do we exist within it?
11. Final quiet line
They see the Moon as territory to win.
You are beginning to see it
as something that does not belong to us.
If you like, we can go one step further:
👉 compare this book with
- posthuman thought
- and your “巨石 × 宇宙 × 空”
That contrast will be very revealing.
