GAME-THEORETIC MODELING OF SPACE COMPETITION: A DYNAMIC APPROACH WITH MAPLE IMPLEMENTATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/pet-2025-2-6Keywords:
game theory, space competition, Nash equilibrium, strategic interaction, mathematical modeling, MapleAbstract
Game theory is a universal tool for analyzing strategic interaction – from economic competition to military-political decision-making and science-and-technology races. This article is devoted to the development of a mathematical model of interstate competition in space exploration based on non-cooperative, non-zero-sum game theory and its numerical implementation in Maple. The object of the study is the competitive development of national space programs in a geopolitical context; the subject is a formal game-theoretic modeling of strategic rivalry under resource constraints, political priorities, and mutual influences. Theoretical foundations for applying game-theoretic approaches to space rivalry are synthesized; a system of differential equations is constructed for multiple players with logistic growth and mutual inhibition. The core analysis focuses on a three-player setting (the United States, China, and the European Space Agency), where internal growth is combined with bilateral “braking” effects. Drawing on historical and contemporary episodes of the “space race”, we build a model that specifies a system of equations describing players’ dynamics and the conditions for equilibrium states. The Maple implementation enabled numerical simulations and parameter-sensitivity assessment. The results confirm the suitability of game theory for forecasting states’ strategic behavior in the space domain and demonstrate the practical utility of the proposed approach for supporting strategic planning of national programs and shaping elements of international space policy.
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