A moon rush is hotting up, with India, China and Japan devising substantial space exploration programmes to compete with the big players -- the us and European Union. The frantic activity centred on the moon has been triggered off by two us expeditions in 1994 and 1998, which rediscovered the possibility of exploring lunar resources for national advantage. The discovery that earth's only satellite may contain water in some form has only added to this intense interest, holding out, as it does, the possibility of human colonisation.

On the positive side, interest in the moon is growing because of the renewed realisation that, as the most accessible celestial body, the moon could be a base for space research to unlock the mysteries of the solar system and provide vital scientific data.

Because the possibilities are great, the un prepared a moon treaty, which came into force for ratifying countries in 1984, to impose regulation so that all countries would benefit from this 'common resource'. But the 'moon' nations have consistently blocked any attempt at international regulation of space exploration, especially missions to the moon and other celestial bodies. None of the countries with moon programmes have ratified the treaty. The lack of regulation means that non-space countries will not benefit substantially from explorations -- the principal reason for the existing players to jealously defend the status quo.

Though, at the moment, there is some degree of collaboration between some countries that have programmes in the pipeline, there is a high possibility that this will turn to competition when the stakes get bigger. For instance, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (nasa) and the European Space Agency (esa) are collaborating with India on its moon programme -- Chandrayaan. The us also has a broader agreement with India on collaboration in space exploration.

t v jayan explores the science and politics of the lunar ambitions of India and other countries.