The Government Commission on Legislative Activities approved the ratification of the Russian-Chinese agreement on cooperation in the creation of an International Scientific Lunar Station concluded in November last year. We are talking not only about the construction of the station, but also about joint exploration of the Moon. RBC has the corresponding document. The government press service confirmed to RBC that the commission supported the ratification bill.
The main participants in the project will be “Roscosmos”and the Chinese National Space Administration, which in the future may attract international partners to it. The project is planned to be implemented in three stages.
At the first stage, Russian and Chinese lunar missions must explore the Moon, determine the location of the Lunar Station and verify technologies to ensure a safe, high-precision soft landing on the surface of the Earth’s satellite. On the Russian side, at this stage it is planned to use the Luna-Glob landing spacecraft.
At the second stage, it is planned to establish a control center for the Lunar Station, deliver bulk cargo to the satellite, create orbital modules for supplying power, communications, and providing transport services.
The third stage involves the exploration of the Moon, expanding the functionality of the Lunar Station modules and assisting international partners in landing a man on the Moon.
According to the document, the parties agreed that goods transported under this agreement will be exempt from customs duties and taxes. Industrial activities related to the creation of the Lunar Station will be promoted.
The explanatory note to the document states that the adoption of the agreement “will not entail negative socio-economic, financial and other consequences, including for subjects of business and other economic activities.” Funding for the creation of the Luna-Glob and Luna-Resurs-1 space complexes will be carried out within the framework of the Russian space program.
As Vladimir Gruzdev, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Lawyers’ Association, notes, the agreement will help strengthen Russia’s strategic partnership with China.
On August 11, Russia launched the Luna-25 automatic interplanetary station to the Moon, which was aimed at the little-studied South Pole of the Earth’s satellite, but ultimately crashed during landing. At the same time, the head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, said that the next launches of automatic stations are planned for 2027 and 2028.
The United States has planned nine launches to the Moon in the coming years. Including five manned missions as part of the Artemis program. Their task NASA calls the creation of a permanently inhabited settlement, and after 2028, the beginning of construction of the Lunar Gateway cislunar base, necessary for the future exploration of Mars.
The remaining countries (Japan, China, Israel, India) announced only automatic launches. Russia, as part of the “Outpost” stage of its Lunar Program, planned to land astronauts on the Moon in 2025-2035.