Unfriendly countries to Russia will be able to join the Russian-Chinese project for the construction of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) without threatening the project. This was stated by Sergey Savelyev, Deputy Director General of Roscosmos for International Cooperation, speaking at the State Duma.
As for the likelihood of a split if unfriendly countries join our project, we do not see such risks, because China and Russia are the leaders in this project.
According to him, 12 countries have already joined the ILRS project, including the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Pakistan, Belarus, Turkey, as well as some "international organizations involved in space activities".
Today, the State Duma ratified at a plenary session an agreement with the Chinese government on cooperation in the creation of the station. The Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation in the field of creating the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) was signed by Roscosmos and representatives of China in March 2021.
The first stage of the creation of the Russian-Chinese project will start in 2025, the first mission will go to the Moon in 2026. These will be Chinese automatic stations "Chang'e-6", "Chang'e-7" and "Chang'e-8", which will test key technologies for working on the Moon. Russia is already conducting experiments on the ISS related to obtaining materials from lunar soil.
Then the construction of a complex of experimental research facilities that can be controlled remotely will begin. Next, a nuclear power plant, which Russia is already working on, will be delivered to the Moon in automatic mode: this will happen in 2033-2035. After that, the ILRS will begin scientific research.
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