Sergey Savelyev, Deputy General Director of Roscosmos for International Cooperation, announced at a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets in the State Duma when the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) will begin operations.
The task of the lunar station, which is planned to be completed by 2036, will be to conduct multidisciplinary, multi-purpose research work to study and use the Moon.
This project between Russia and China already involves 12 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Pakistan, Belarus, and Turkey. It is also known that representatives from countries unfriendly to Russia may be allowed to work with the ILRS.
ILRS
A memorandum of understanding and cooperation in the creation of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) was signed by Roscosmos and representatives of China in March 2021. At the end of May 2024, the State Duma ratified at a plenary session an agreement with the Chinese government on cooperation in the creation of the station.
The first stage of the Russian-Chinese project will start in 2025, and the first mission will go to the Moon in 2026. These will be the 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.
Read more on the topic:
Launch dates for the new Russian Soyuz-5 rocket announced
Russia to increase production of ultra-strong wires for space and electronics fivefold
US suspects Russia of launching space-based anti-satellite weapon
