What better way to mark Sputnik’s 50th birthday than to warn of a new space arms race? “We do not want to fight in space, but on the other hand, we will not allow any other country to [be the] boss in space,” Colonel-General Vladimir Popovkin, Russia’s Space Forces Commander, apparently said (Interfax). Novosti has the slightly different translation: “We do not want to fight in space, and we do not want to call the shots there either, but we will not permit any other country to do so.”

It would be a tad unfair to cite this as Russian sabre rattling. Popovkin also said “Today space is the only area free of arms and the situation should be legalized in international legal documents.” China has already successfully tested an anti-satellite weapon but Popovkin’s statements are being seen more as aimed at the west, particularly America’s anti-missile programme (Reuters, AFP).

Anyway, NASA’s head honcho Michael Griffin thinks China is a bigger space threat than Russia for now. “I personally believe that China will be back on the moon before we are” he said (AP). “I think when that happens, Americans will not like it. But they will just have to not like it.”

It’s not all doom and gloom in space though – Russia and America have signed an agreement to cooperate on a search for water on the moon (AP). So at least we can find out if there’s something there worth fighting over before we start fighting.

READ NATURE’S COVERAGE OF SPUTNIK’S 50TH AND RUSSIAN SCIENCE HERE.

Image: NASA