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The International Space Station is seen in orbit. The lunar station project by Russia and China is touted as open to the international community, but every phase of development will be jointly led by Moscow and Beijing. Photo: DPA

China and Russia to build international research station on the moon

  • China and Russia will build a lunar station that will be used to carry out a wide range of scientific research, says the China National Space Administration
  • Last year, China became the first country in four decades to bring rocks from the moon back to earth
Space

Moscow and Beijing have taken their cooperation on lunar exploration one step further by signing an agreement to build an international research station on the moon.

China and Russia’s national space agencies signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to build a lunar station together that will be used to carry out a wide range of scientific research, according to a statement from the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

“The International Lunar Research Station will be a long-term, autonomous and comprehensive scientific experiment base located on the moon’s surface or in lunar orbit that can carry out multidisciplinary and multi-objective scientific research activities such as exploration and utilisation of the moon, lunar observation, foundational scientific experiments and verification of technology,” read the statement.

The agreement was signed by CNSA head Zhang Kejian and Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, a state corporation and Russia’s de facto space agency.

01:45

China releases first footage of Tianwen-1 probe entering Mars’ orbit

China releases first footage of Tianwen-1 probe entering Mars’ orbit

While the station is touted as a project open to the international community, every phase of development, from planning to operation, will be jointly led by Moscow and Beijing, according to the statement.

“China and Russia will use their accumulated experience in space science, research and development and use of space equipment and space technology to jointly develop a road map for the construction of an international lunar scientific research station,” read the statement.

Lunar exploration is a frontier where great powers have long battled for supremacy. One of the hallmarks of the Cold War was the race to the moon between the US and the Soviet Union.

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The so-called “space race” between the two powers led to unprecedented feats by mankind, with the Soviet Union winning the race to send the first satellite and human into space, while the US was able to land the first humans on the moon, something that Russia has been unsuccessful in replicating.

China has had to play catch up. The country’s rapid economic growth in the nineties and early 2000s allowed for money to be poured into the development of its space programme, culminating in China sending its first astronaut in space in 2003.

Last year, China became the first country in four decades to bring rocks from the moon back to Earth and the third country to achieve such a feat, after the United States and the Soviet Union.

The Chang’e 5 spacecraft collected about 1.5kg (3.3 pounds) of rock and dirt from the surface using a robotic arm and drilled down about 2 metres (6.6 feet) to collect 500 grams (1.1 pounds) of underground samples.

01:28

China’s Chang’e 5 lunar mission returns to Earth with moon samples

China’s Chang’e 5 lunar mission returns to Earth with moon samples

Washington’s recent tussles with an increasingly assertive Russia and China have led to greater cooperation between Beijing and Moscow on all issues related to space.

Russia and China have worked to integrate their satellite-based terrestrial navigation systems in a bid to challenge the US global positioning system (GPS).

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“Our system is more suitable for northern, polar latitudes. The Chinese system is more southern. Their complementariness would result in a biggest and most powerful competitor to any navigation system,” Roscosmos head Rogozin told Russian state media in 2014.

Russia and China have also accused the US of militarising space exploration, especially after former US president Donald Trump moved to create the world’s first and only independent space force in 2018. Both powers have also for years promoted the banning of military activities in space at the UN Conference of Disarmament in Geneva.

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Nevertheless, space security could become an increasing avenue for collaboration. Vladimir Putin’s announcement in October 2019 that Russia was helping China build a missile warning system might involve the construction of extraterrestrial sensors to guard against an attack from US weapons in space, according to a December report in the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based defence policy think tank.

The report added that with the rise of US commercial space launch companies, Russia will lose a substantial amount of revenue it earned by selling rocket engines and transporting private entities to space, a loss that could be made up for by pursuing closer ties with Beijing.

“Russia could choose to rely more on Chinese financing, technology or satellites in the future to compensate for these deficiencies. Ongoing Sino-US tensions in space will likely encourage the [People’s Republic of China] to embrace such opportunities,” the report said.

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In testimony before the Senate Armed Service Committee on Tuesday, Admiral Phil Davidson, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said there are growing, if still modest, signs of closer Beijing-Moscow military ties.

These include China’s participation in Russian military exercises for three years running and bombers from the two nations flying joint missions through the Sea of Japan and East China Sea, he added.

“In the tactical and operational space I’m seeing some collaboration,” Davidson said. “I think that there is less cooperation, although frequent discussions, at the strategic level, though all of it I view with some alarm.”

Additional reporting by Mark Magnier

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