Space programs are a national source of pride and prestige. At best, they can engender healthy cooperation or competition between countries that push back the frontiers of science, aids strained relations between the great powers, and is a source of international solidarity in divisive times. As the US President Lyndon Johnson said in 1959, "Men who have worked together to reach the stars are not likely to descend together into the depths of war and desolation." At worst, the rockets developed to reach orbit can be turned on a nations' enemies. From its inception, space programs have been linked to broader foreign policy and national security objectives. Most cooperation in space today is a political act used to further these ends. This can be seen by the recent surge in Indo-US space cooperation through the NASA Vision for Space Exploration (VSE). This cooperation is touted by both sides as a way to deepen Indo-US ties, exemplified by the recent successful return of Sunita Williams on the Space Shuttle after her historic six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Indian, Chinese, and Japanese space programs should follow NASA's lead and form alliances with one another to further the causes of regional security and nuclear non-proliferation.

Indo-US space cooperation dates back to 1963. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) conducted its first launch in 1979, and typically launches once or twice a year with a budget of approximately US$450 million. In 2003, India announced plans to launch a robotic spacecraft to the Moon as early as 2007. This is only one part of a more ambitious national space policy that could include eventual human space flights to Mars. In 2004, more than 500 Indian and US policymakers and industry representatives met in Bangalore to discuss joint exploration projects, such as the NASA VSE. NASA is looking for new international partners to accomplish its goals. This process was accelerated after 9/11, when the Indo-US alliance strengthened still further. India and the US are by no means alone. Both China and Japan also have robust capabilities. Asian countries though have not as yet used space politically to constructively strengthen alliances in this highly visible area of international relations.

There has never been a joint Indo-Japanese, or Indo-Chinese space mission. This is despite the fact that Asia has a significant and expanding role in space. Japan's space program, JAXA, spends nearly US$9 billion annually to attain its space goals. Currently, approximately 1,000 staffers are working on China's lunar programs with a budget of approximately US$176 million. China is one of only three countries to independently launch humans into space, and now has plans to build its own space station and explore the Moon. With China's deep pockets and manpower, India's IT prowess and new launch systems, and Japan's technical abilities and high-technology, nothing stands in the way of reaching these common goals except political will.

Forming alliances in space spurs economic development and helps the cause of Asian regional security. Every US$1 invested in Apollo generated US$3 in economic expansion in the US Moreover, the iconic image of Indian, Chinese, and Japanese astronauts shaking hands in space would be reminiscent of the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz handshake. This is to say nothing of Indian and Pakistani astronauts performing such a feat. Such an act could help usher in a new era of Asian collaboration that could lead to other joint initiatives, even nuclear non-proliferation. As former NASA Administrator Webb said, "international collaboration in space diverts to peaceful endeavors technology just as well suited to nuclear weapons delivery." With Pakistan set to resume testing nuclear materials at Khan Research Laboratories, Asian governments would be well-advised to use space to diffuse tensions here on Earth. The ISRO, JAXA, and the Chinese space programs should stop their isolation and follow the example of NASA which over 40 years has concluded more than 4,000 agreements with 100 countries. Space is a political sphere, one with an enormous potential for peace. So far, in Asia, this potential has been underutilized.

Without deep partnerships, China and potentially Japan will be more inclined to go forward with individualized goals. The dangers of this practice may be seen by China's January test of a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile to destroy a weather satellite. If current trends continue, space weaponization will continue to proliferate, potentially touching off a space-based weapons race that will be a drain on all economies. The military use of space was not completely forbidden by the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty, as is apparent by the existence of earth-orbit military reconnaissance satellites and global-positioning systems. Asian countries should work together, and with the US, to ensure that cooperation and commerce, and not conflict, drive space operations in the 21st century and beyond.