The signing of an agreement on the creation of an international lunar station between Russia and China is expected in 2022, according to the press service of Roscosmos. The agreement, which is planned to be concluded with the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA), provides for the construction of an experimental research complex on the surface and in orbit around the Moon by 2035.
“A draft of a legally binding Russian-Chinese intergovernmental agreement on this topic is being worked out, the signing of which is scheduled for 2022,” the statement by Roscosmos says.
In addition to the construction of the lunar station, the agreement should also include provisions on the creation of a flight system between the Earth and the Moon, an auxiliary system for a long period of operation on the lunar surface, a system for moving along the lunar surface and performing operations, scientific equipment complexes, ground auxiliary and applied software systems, and etc.
In general, the Russian lunar program is designed for the period up to 2040. Until 2025, it is planned to fly around the moon on the new Russian manned spacecraft “Orel” in unmanned mode, as well as send an automatic station to the Earth satellite. In September this year, Roskosmos announced a tender to study the issue of organizing manned flights to the Moon, including landing a man on the surface of an Earth satellite.
On November 29, Dmitry Rogozin, director of the state corporation Roscosmos, said that Russia needed to launch a space station to Venus by 2030, otherwise it would lose its place in the top three space powers.
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