Cold War rivals China and Russia met virtually on Tuesday to sign a historic agreement outlining plans to construct a research station on the Moon.
The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) will be a “comprehensive scientific experiment base with the capability of long-term autonomous operation,” said China’s National Space Administration.
The first-of-its-kind proposal did not include a timeline, though officials confirmed that other countries would be allowed to participate. When completed, the ILRS will be used for activities such as: “lunar exploration and utilization, lunar-based observation, basic scientific experiment, and technical verification,” said China.
Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, has played a key role in cooperative space projects in the past – sending re-supply missions to the International Space Station and offering transportation for astronauts – while China has focused largely on its own projects, including an Earth-orbiting station called Tiangong-1, a sample-return mission to the Moon in 2020, and its Tianwen 1 probe to Mars.
China has also made clear its plans to establish a presence at the Moon’s South Pole by 2036 in order to study the water ice located there.
NASA’s Artemis project – which aims to put the first woman on the Moon by 2024 – also includes plans for a Moon base as well as research at the South Pole.
Seven nations have already signed “Artemis accords” establishing norms for cooperation in space to participate in the project. Those nations are: Australia, Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, Italy, the UK, and the UAE.
The accords, which in theory represent the beginning of international space law, were not signed by Russia or China.
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