Russia and China sign an agreement to explore the moon

Russia and China have signed a number of documents related to the lunar exploration program, Director of the Russian Space Agency “Roskosmos”, Dmitry Rogozin, said today, Saturday.

According to the newspaper,Izvista“A number of preliminary documents were signed: a memorandum, an agreement, an intergovernmental agreement, whereby China, by providing good financial support, will implement the first phase of the lunar exploration program using automated stations,” Rogozin said.

Rogozin noted that Russia and China are well aware that the two countries’ next steps are “building a base on the moon,” adding that negotiations are also underway with Rogozin, Brazil, other countries and the European Space Agency.

The director of the Russian Space Agency indicated that he doubts the operation of the International Space Station (ISS) after 2028, adding: “We will make a decision on the service life of the Russian part based on technical limitations, and accordingly, we need to focus on creating and launching the first modules of the new station of these Period”.

Rogozin noted that in 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the decision to start the preliminary design of the Russian orbital service station (Ros), as the task of developing the initial design was included in the state order for 2022, and after its completion, the final decision on the station will be made.

In 2021, the head of Roscosmos and the head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) Zhang Kejian signed a memorandum of cooperation on behalf of the governments of Russia and China on the establishment of an international scientific lunar station.

The memorandum indicated that Roscosmos and the Chinese National Space Administration, in accordance with the principles of equal distribution of rights and obligations, will strengthen cooperation to establish an international scientific lunar station with open access to all interested countries and international partners, with the aim of exploring and using outer space for peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind.