Russia and China agree to build 'International Science Moon Station', seeking a different path from NASA's lunar orbit platform gateway

On March 9, 2021, Russia and China signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly build the 'International Science Moon Station', announced by

https://www.roscosmos.ru/30248/

Russia turns away from NASA, says it will work with China on a Moon base | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/03/china-and-russia-say-they-will-work-together-to-build-a-lunar-station/

Russia partners with China for lunar space station --The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/9/22321114/lunar-moon-space-station-russia-china-agreement-nasa

Russia has long been debating whether to join the Lunar Gateway , a NASA-led lunar space station (gateway) aimed at building a manned space station (gateway). Russia eventually gave up on working with NASA and chose to work with China to build a space station on the Moon that is different from the gateway.

Roscosmos describes the International Science Moon Station, jointly constructed by Russia and China, as 'a complex of experimental and research facilities created on the moon or in orbit.' In addition, the International Science Moon Station by Russia and China will be designed to 'enable people to be on the moon,' 'enable long-term unmanned driving,' and 'support various research experiments.' And that.

Just as NASA is seeking help in building a lunar orbit platform gateway, China has sought international support for the construction of the International Science Lunar Station. China has achieved its own achievements in space development, including 'Chang'e 4', which landed on the far side of the moon for the first time. Chang'e 4 discovers a mysterious gel-like object on the back of the moon and takes pictures of the moon and the earth as seen from the back of the moon .

China's unmanned spacecraft 'Chang'e 4' lands on the other side of the moon for the first time in the world --GIGAZINE

The moment when Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin signed a memorandum of understanding with China National Space Administration Director Zhang Katsui, who leads the private space development in China, is published on the official YouTube channel of Roscosmos. According to the China National Space Administration, the memorandum is 'Co-development of a unique lunar space station that seeks planning, demonstration, design, development, implementation and operation of scientific research station projects, including project promotion to the international aerospace community. Is shining light on the project. '

Россия и Китай подписали меморандум о создании лунной станции --YouTube


Russia has maintained a partnership with NASA on the operation of the International Space Station (ISS) for decades, but was 'reluctant' to expand its space exploration partnership with the United States to the moon. The media, The Verge, points out. Specifically, Roscosmos criticized NASA's proposal to 'provide airlocks to Russia with a lunar orbit platform gateway' in December 2020 as 'unrealistic.'

NASA is working on the 'Artemis Program' to send humanity back to the Moon to advance the development of the Moon. The 'Artemis Accords ', an international agreement that sets out the basic principles of space exploration and space utilization on the Moon and Mars, which was advocated with the Artemis program in mind, has already been included in the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, and Australia. Nine countries, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, have agreed.

NASA explains in a movie the details of the 'Artemis program' that sends humanity to the moon again --GIGAZINE

The lunar orbit platform gateway that will be used in the Artemis program's lunar mission was originally called 'Deep Space Gateway'. The following article summarizes the details of the lunar orbit platform gateway, which is expected to be an important base not only for exploration of the moon but also for aiming at Mars.

NASA announces 2030 exploration plan aiming for Mars with the space station 'Deep Space Gateway' floating near the orbit of the moon --GIGAZINE

It has also been revealed that China has met with the French National Space Research Center (CNES), a French space development agency. Regarding this meeting, CNES said, 'CNES and the China National Space Administration confirmed the status of bilateral space cooperation.' 'We discussed other potential areas for cooperation in the exploration of the Moon and Mars.' Stated.