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Soft Power and the Race to the Moon: Why Cislunar Norms Are the Next Hill to Hold

The United States is positioning cislunar space as the next geopolitical arena, leveraging NASA’s Artemis program and the Artemis Accords to set soft‑power norms. Cislunar real estate near the lunar south pole is scarce, and early standards for communications, navigation, and deconfliction will create path‑dependent market advantages. China’s planned crewed landing by 2030 and a multipolar lunar research station heighten the urgency for U.S. leadership. Congress must fund domain awareness, LunaNet standards, and clear deconfliction rules to turn these norms into a strategic advantage.