There are many ways to the moon, and not all of them lead through the moon gate. This week the heads of the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) and the National Space Agency of China (CNSA) signed an agreement to work together on their own lunar research station.
According to a statement released by the CNSA, the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) will “be a comprehensive scientific experimental base with the capability of long-term autonomous operation built on the lunar surface and / or on the lunar orbit”.
After completion, the research station can be used by all interested nations. As for China and Russia, their decision to work together on a lunar base is not entirely surprising. They have been signaling their intention to collaborate in lunar science for some time and have already signed collaborative agreements on their respective Chang’e 7 and Luna 27 missions, both of which are expected to explore the Moon’s South Pole in the mid-2020s. A schedule has not yet been set for the ILRS, but Roscosmos said they will collaborate with the CNSA on developing a roadmap for building the station in the near future.
The move comes not long after Russia began to distance itself from the Lunar Gateway, a lunar orbital research station planned in collaboration between the American, Canadian, Japanese and European space agencies. Roscosmos was supposed to provide the gateway with an airlock, but has stepped back from this obligation in the last few months after Roscosmos boss Dmitry Rogozin described the gateway as “an American project with limited participation from external partners”. We don’t care, ”he said. China, meanwhile, has not been invited to participate in the Gateway at all, as American law does not currently allow NASA and CNSA to collaborate in space without the special approval of Congress.
An early concept for the Lunar Gateway that features Roscosmos’ now-canceled post of an airlock module. Photo credit: NASA.
Despite the differences of opinion, NASA and Roscosmos continue to work together as partners on the International Space Station (ISS). Both also agree that the Lunar Gateway should use an international docking adapter so that a Soyuz vehicle can dock to the station if necessary in the future. Interoperability benefits everyone involved, even if Roscosmos’ priorities are elsewhere.
The newly proposed ILRS, meanwhile, promises to give Russia, China and all other partners involved access to new space exploration opportunities. According to the CNSA, some of the activities the ILRS will enable will include “lunar exploration and exploitation, lunar-based observation, basic scientific experimentation and engineering verification.” It is an ambitious project and is in line with China and Russia’s long-term priorities in space exploration.
China’s Yutu 2 rover on the other side of the moon. Photo credit: CNSA; IAU.
In the near future, Russia will launch the first major upgrade of the ISS in over a decade in April. The new module called Nauka (Russian for science) will replace the old Pirs docking port that is being discarded. Meanwhile, China is currently operating a rover on the other side of the moon and is expected to attempt to land a rover on Mars in May or June this year. Both countries are also developing and testing new heavy-lift launch vehicles to fulfill their ambitions in space, including the newly announced ILRS.
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