ＮＨ ＳＤ Sample Pro Case ＮＨ Ｓ We stand PRO on the resolution, “Resolved: A space race between China and the United States would cause more benefits than harm.” We support our case with the following 2 contentions. ＮＨ ＮＨ ＳＤ ＳＤ ＬＣ ＬＣ Contention I: Space Resources A. Asteroid Mining First, asteroids contain huge amounts of minerals that are rare on Earth. Klotz in 2012 notes that a single small – 30 meters long – asteroid can hold between $25 and $50 billion worth of platinum1. Steyn in ’21 notes that these minerals play a critical role in developing a “large-scale renewable infrastructure. Doing this successfully would require vast quantities of battery metals (lithium, cobalt, nickel), critical minerals (copper) and rare Earth elements — so much so that market analysts have warned of a potential metals supercycle. In a supercycle, demand wildly outstrips supply, relentlessly driving up prices.” Space mining could potentially solve this shortage.2 ＬＣ ＬＣ ＮＨ ＮＨ B. Lunar Resources Lunar resources could both be used as a platform for further space exploration and for developing the moon itself. Hugo in ’19 states, “[O]xygen exists in lunar rock (regolith) and can be directly extracted. This would be done for many reasons, such as life support oxygen, propellant oxidizer, or even to facilitate plant growth. In samples of lunar material that have been tested, oxygen abundance is found to be between 42-45% by weight. Using lunar oxygen is important because of the high cost per kilogram of launching materials into space from Earth.” This means that Lunar development provides critical in situ resources for future development and research. 4 Ｓ ＳＤ ＬＣ Second, water based on asteroids could serve as a refueling depot for deep-space operations. Water fulfills two requirements for deep-space operations. First, it provides basic sustenance for life. Second, as the BBC notes in 2012, “Water from asteroids could be broken down in space to liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen for rocket fuel. Water is very expensive to get off the ground so the plan is to take it from an asteroid to a spot in space where it can be converted into fuel.”3 ＮＨ ＳＤ ＮＨ ＳＤ Additionally, the Moon has significant reserves of the isotope helium-3 (H3). The last human to walk on the moon, Dr Harrison Schmitt, argues that H3 could provide a feasible alternative to fossil fuels. H3 has no harmful environmental biproduct when Irene, Reuters 2012, “Tech billionaires bankroll gold rush to mine asteroids” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-asteroid-mining-idUSBRE83N06U20120424 2 Steyn, Elizabeth. Assistant Professor of Mining and Finance Law at Western University. The Conversation. April 4, 2021, https://theconversation.com/space-mining-is-not-science-fiction-andcanada-could-figure-prominently-155855 3 BBC News, “Plans for asteroid mining emerge” April 24, 2012, https://www.bbc.com/news/scienceenvironment-17827347 4 Hugo, Adam. The Space Resource. “Why the Lunar South Pole?” April 25, 2019, https://www.thespaceresource.com/news/2019/4/why-the-lunar-south-pole ＬＣ 1Klotz, ＮＨ ＳＤ ＬＣ ＬＣ ＳＤ ＳＤ Sample Pro Case | 1 ＬＣ NHSDLC Fall 2021 nhsdlc.cn ＮＨ Ｓ ＮＨ ＳＤ combusted, but also is not common on Earth. It is, however, quite abundant on the Moon. 5 Contention II: Scientific Investment ＬＣ ＬＣ The perception of a “space race” causes nations to commit more resources to scientific development than they would otherwise. In the US the perception of a competitive China has influence the platforms and speeches of key political players. Former Vice President Mike Pence cautioned that American scientists needed to step up to prevent China from “seizing the Lunar high-ground.”6 As the administrator of NASA used the same argument in front of the US Congress to advocate more funding. 7 ＮＨ ＮＨ ＳＤ ＳＤ Investments in space don’t stay in space. As Green in 2019 put, “Creating an environment that can sustain human life in the almost total absence of gravity, as well as no electrical outlets or oxygen, takes a lot of experimentation. That’s been the job of teams of dedicated scientists who have facilitated some of the most unforgettable moments in space exploration.”8 These inventions range from artificial limbs – whose technology stems from space vehicles – to insulin pumps – from health regulators for astronauts – to fire fighting equipment to blankets used by refugees. ＬＣ ＬＣ ＮＨ ＮＨ Ｓ ＳＤ ＬＣ Our claims are historically supported. The Space Race between the US and USSR led to what NASA calls “spinoff” technologies, or tech that resulted from space research that we use in our everyday lives. As Spadoni in 2020 notes, “To date, NASA says that about 2,000 “spinoff” commercial products have been successfully developed in many fields.”9 ＮＨ ＳＤ ＮＨ ＳＤ Scmitt, Harrison, Astronaut and Doctor of Geology, “Return to the Moon: Exploration, Enterprise, and Energy in the Human Settlement of Space” Copernicus, 2006 6 Pence, Mike. Former Vice President of the United States. Remarks by Vice President Pence at the Fifth Meeting of the National Space Council in Huntsville, AL. March 26, 2019. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-vice-president-pence-fifthmeeting-national-space-council-huntsville-al/ 7 “As China’s space ambitions grow, NASA tells congress it needs more money to compete” Christian Davenport, The Washington Post, June 17 2021 https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/17/china-space-race-nasa/ 8 Green, Josie. “Inventions we use every day that we actually created for space exploration” USA Today, July 8, 2019 https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/08/space-race-inventions-we-use-everyday-were-created-for-space-exploration/39580591/ 9 Spadoni, Alex. “How Technology From the Space Race Changed the World” Now. Northrup Grumman. April 9, 2020, https://now.northropgrumman.com/how-technology-from-the-space-race-changed-theworld/ ＬＣ 5 ＮＨ ＳＤ ＬＣ ＬＣ ＳＤ ＳＤ Sample Pro Case | 2 ＬＣ NHSDLC Fall 2021 nhsdlc.cn
