Recent reports suggest that NASA is looking to accelerate its lunar landing timeline — partly to ensure that America returns to the moon before China does. The echoes of the 1960s Space Race are unmistakable. Once again, the focus seems to be on being first — planting a flag, capturing headlines and proving technological superiority. But this approach carries the same risks as before. 

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Rocky Avvento is the author of Business Opportunities in the New Space Economy, a forthcoming work exploring the markets, infrastructures and partnerships driving the 21st-century expansion into space. A space architect and strategic thinker, he writes...