“China and Russia will use their accumulated experience in space science, research and development as well as the use of space equipment and space technology to jointly develop a road map for the construction of an international lunar scientific research station,” the agency said
— Vivian Salama (@vmsalama) March 9, 2021
Chinese, Russia space plans
“At ESA we are following the Chinese lunar exploration plans very closely in order to see where our respective programmatic interest could meet – primarily the CE-6, -7 and -8 missions, but also the ILRS initiative,” Karl Bergquist, ESA’s international relations administrator, said last year.
China and Russia previously signed cooperation agreements for Chang’e-7(mission returning moon samples) and Luna 27 (the lunar lander missions).
The initial planning for the ILRS involves using a number of modules, rather than the integrated program currently in use by the US International Space Station.
The MoU acknowledges that both Russia and China are building on current activities.
China has made a lot of progress in 2020 and expects to be extremely busy in the early 2020s. Chinese plans include a series of lunar exploration missions with the lunar lander they developed. China has launched two lunar orbiters, a pair of landers as well as rover missions. By late 2020, the complex Chang’e-5 lunar sample return mission.
