Leading the Space Industry, US Checks... China and Russia Plan to Build Moon Base by 2035

Joining Hands According to Bilateral Interests
Plan for Construction of International Dal Research Station (ILRS)

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] China and Russia are jointly aiming to build a lunar base by 2035. The two countries, whose interests align in response to the US-centered space development projects, are observed to have joined forces.

According to foreign media on the 18th (local time), the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) plan to construct an "International Lunar Research Station" (ILRS) on the moon by 2035. Earlier, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) three months ago for the joint construction of the ILRS with the same content.

CNSA and Roscosmos unveiled their roadmap at the Global Lunar Exploration Conference (GLEX) held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on the 16th. According to the roadmap, exploration work to select the ILRS construction site will begin this year. The site will be decided in 2025, followed by construction until 2035, and operations will commence in 2036. Research on the moon is expected to be the primary focus.

In the future, plans include supporting manned space exploration missions. Wu Yanhua, Deputy Director of CNSA, stated at the GLEX press conference that CNSA and Roscosmos are concentrating on developing lunar exploration technologies using robots. Although there are currently no plans to send astronauts to the moon within the next ten years, research to send astronauts to the moon is ongoing.

CNSA and Roscosmos welcome participation from other countries and have already been in discussions with the European Space Agency (ESA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and others.

China and Russia have been strengthening cooperation in the space sector. In April, the two countries agreed to collaborate on a mission to launch an exploratory spacecraft in 2024 to collect soil samples from the asteroid "Kamo?oalewa," a quasi-satellite orbiting Earth.

Their cooperation in space also reflects a stance against the United States, with whom relations are strained. In particular, Russia is currently engaged in a standoff with the US over extending the operational period of the International Space Station (ISS). The US supports extending the ISS operation beyond 2024, but Russia argues that its space program has been harmed by US sanctions against Russia and insists that sanctions must be lifted before the ISS operation period can be extended.

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is promoting the "Artemis program," aiming to send astronauts back to the moon by 2024. Eleven countries, including South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy, Luxembourg, Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, and Ukraine, have agreed to participate.