Russia and China have announced their plans for a joint lunar space station. This plan has come up as Moscow seeks to recapture the glory of its space pioneering days of Soviet times, and Beijing gears up its own extraterrestrial ambitions.
Key Points
- Russia was once at the forefront of space travel; the country sent the first man into space but now its cosmic ambitions have slowed down due to poor financing and endemic corruption.
- Moscow has been overshadowed by China and the United States, which have both clocked major wins in space exploration and research in recent years.
- The Russian space agency Roscomos said that it had signed an agreement with China’s National Space Administration (CNSA) for developing a complex of experimental research facilities created on the surface and/or in the orbit of the Moon.
- The CNSA said that the project was open to all interested countries and international partners. CNSA says it would be China’s biggest international space cooperation project to date.
- This year, Russia celebrates the 60th anniversary of its first-ever manned space flight. In April 1961, Russia sent Yuri Gagarin into space, followed by the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, two years later.
- The United States NASA space agency launched its first manned space flight a month after Russia, in May 1961, sending Alan Shepard up aboard Mercury-Redstone 3.
- At present, Moscow has lagged behind both China and the US in the exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Eyes on Mars
NASA now has its eyes on Mars, with its Perseverance rovers last week conducting their first test drive on the planet. NASA aims to conduct a possible human mission to the planet.
Russia and the US are also collaborating in the space sector one of the few areas of cooperation left between the Cold War rivals.
However, Russia did not sign the U.S.-led Artemis Accord last year for countries that want to participate in a lunar exploration scheme spearheaded by NASA.
Under the Artemis programme announced during the tenure of former U.S. President Donald Trump, NASA plans to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024.