The government approved the creation of a lunar station with China – Kommersant

The Government Commission on Legislative Activities approved the ratification of an agreement concluded in November 2022 with China on cooperation in the creation of an International Scientific Lunar Station. It involves the construction of a station and joint exploration of the Moon, reports RBC with a link to the document. The government press service confirmed to the publication that the commission supported its ratification.

The key participants in the project will be Roscosmos and the Chinese National Space Administration; in the future, foreign partners may be involved in it. The project is planned to be implemented in three stages:

• during the first, Russian and Chinese lunar missions will explore the Moon, determine the location of the station and verify technologies for a safe and accurate landing (on the Russian side they intend to use the Luna-Glob landing spacecraft);
• at the second stage, they must establish a control center for the Lunar station, deliver bulk cargo to the satellite, create orbital modules for supplying electricity, communications, and provide transport services;
• The third stage involves the exploration of the Moon, expanding the functionality of the station modules and assisting foreign partners in landing a man on the Moon.

The parties agreed that goods transported under the agreement will be exempt from customs duties and taxes. According to the explanatory note, the agreement “will not entail negative socio-economic, financial and other consequences.” The creation of the Luna-Glob and Luna-Resurs-1 space complexes will be financed within the framework of the Russian space program.

August 11 Russia launched automatic station “Luna-25”, this was the first launch of a Russian lunar station in almost 50 years. August 20 communication with Luna-25 was lost. According to preliminary data, it switched to an off-design orbit and collided with the surface of the Moon. In October, President Vladimir Putin spent meeting on the development of the space industry. He stated that the lunar program would continue, despite the failure of the Luna-25 mission. Roscosmos plans to launch the next satellite to the Earth in 2027.

Details – in the publication “Kommersant” “On the Moon as on the Moon”.

Laura Keffer