Korea lagging behind in space race

India made history in humanity’s lunar exploration by becoming the first country to land on Moon’s south pole. India declared it touched the moon after the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft succeeded in a soft-landing on the south pole on Aug. 23. India became the fourth in the exclusive moon-landing club after the Soviet Union, the United States and China, but it is the first to reach the south pole of the lunar surface.

The achievement is remarkable for a country whose per capita income is just $2,200, although India ranks No. 5 in GDP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the feat a “universal human achievement” and vowed to use the momentum to advance the country’s innovation.

India’s robotic exploration shows a new meaning of the Moon to humanity in the 21st century. Moon landings were a kind of contest for supremacy when the U.S. Apollo 11 became the first to land humans on the moon in 1969. Today, the moon has greater value thanks to its frozen water and other resources, including Helium-3.

The race towards the moon is hot. The U.S. launched the Artemis Project in 2017 with a vision to establish a permanent self-supporting base on the moon and a space station in lunar orbit. Over 20 countries, including Korea, are participating in the project. China aims to establish a separate permanent moon base on the south pole, called the International Lunar Research Station, by 2030.

But Korea remains a laggard in space exploration. President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to establish a space agency by the end of this year, but whether the timetable would be met remains uncertain due to a partisan battle over the future of space development in Korea.

The Ministry of Science and ICT submitted a special bill on establishing the Space Administration in April, but the bill remains pending at the standing committee due to disagreements over the details by the rivalling parities. The government wants to put the agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT, while the majority Democratic Party proposes to make it an independent agency under a separate minister.

Space is a national project. Although politicians and policymakers chant “New Space,” their dilly-dallying raises suspicion about the determination. The rivalling parties must muster wisdom and bipartisanship for the future.