China and Russia Announce Joint Lunar Base Construction That May Rival NASA's Gateway Orbiting the Moon

China recently confirmed that it will collaborate with Russia to construct a station based on the moon in 2035. The project of the two countries will be hovering alongside NASA's upcoming Lunar Gateway Space Station. The plans for developing the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) were relayed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Friday.

China and Russia Join Forces for Separate Lunar Base Project

CHINA-SPACE — Staff members examine the return module of China's Chang'e-5 lunar probe in Siziwang Banner, in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on December 17, 2020. STR/AFP via Getty Images

CNSA deputy director Wu Yanhua said in an ILRS briefing that China and Russia plan to materialize the basic structure for their separate lunar space station by 2035.

ILRS will hover side by side with NASA's Lunar Gateway. The agency's space station will be among the most vital steps under the completion of the greater Artemis program. As the Lunar Gateway orbits the moon, ILRS will have a station built on the lunar surface, complete with exploration rovers that will travel around for additional studies.

The ILRS infrastructure construction, according to a report by Bloomberg Quint, will commence soon. Among the first phase of China and Russia's space station development is the assembly of the systems dedicated to communication, life support, and energy. The progress of innovations around the ILRS is open for contribution from other country partners.

The memorandum of understanding aligned with the ILRS launch was signed by Bejing and Moscow authorities in March 2021. Based on the papers, the space station will have a design that will cater to 'multidisciplinary and multipurpose research work.'

Russia confirmed its interest to join the NASA Lunar Gateway program development last September 2017 before collaborating with China for the ILRS construction. A joint statement was released by Russia's space agency Roscosmos and NASA even before the concept of the new space station was publicized. But in 2021, the Russian authorities formally disclosed that their agency would not be participating in the program.

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China's Space Goals by 2030

Part of the ILRS development is the goal of China to launch their experts to the moon as early as 2030. According to a report by DailyMail, the timeline was released by the Chinese Academy of Engineering scientist Long Lehao. It is a known fact that China was also planning to send people to the moon, but the commencement of their missions was first thought to commence past 2030. Throughout the ILRS project, three Chang'e missions will be launched by China starting in 2024.

China and Russia both have agreed to participate in cooperative missions. It will be the first comprehensive collaboration between the two countries after more than a decade of working alone on their respective space ventures.

The ILRS will be a massive shift for China's space exploration history, as there has not been a single expert from the country included in the International Space Station (ISS). The orbital laboratory is currently handled by space agencies of the United States, Japan, Canada, Russia, and Europe.

The first attempt of China to match the team effort of other countries began during the construction of their exclusive space station Tiangong. Last April, the initial module of the station called Tianhe was launched. It is expected to be followed by other pieces that would ultimately assemble the entirety of the station in the coming years. Tiangong will be smaller than ISS and weigh about 60 tons.