The Director General of the Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos) Dmitry Rogozin and the head of the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA) Jan Kejian have signed on behalf of their governments a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of establishing an International Science Station on the Moon, Roskosmos and CNSA jointly announced today.
Roskosmos and CNSA «will contribute to the creation of the International Space Station on the Moon, which will be openly accessible to all interested countries and international partners, with the aim of enhancing scientific and research cooperation and promoting research and the use of space for peaceful purposes in the interest of all humanity».
The signing ceremony of the Memorandum was held by videoconference. «China and Russia are leveraging their shared experience and scientific technologies to create a roadmap for the construction of the international research station on the Moon,» the CNSA statement posted on social media WeChat said.
According to the announcement of the two space agencies, cooperation between the two countries in this field involves both the study of the surface of the Moon and the implementation of joint programmes in the orbit of the Earth's natural satellite.
In November 2017, Roskosmos and CNSA signed a programme of cooperation in the field of space for 2018-2020, which includes six areas: the study of the Moon and outer space, space science and related technologies, satellites and their application, data and materials base, cooperation in the field of remote Earth observation data and other issues. Sub-working groups have been set up to achieve these objectives within this programme.
In June 2020, Rogozin announced that he had discussed with Chinese colleagues the issue of their cooperation in space in the context of a space science station on the Moon. In December 2020 Rogozin had stated in the Council of Federation ( upper house) that in June China had proposed to Europe cooperation in the field of space conquest. In early February, Roskosmos Deputy Director in charge of international cooperation Sergei Savelyev had told TASS that Roskosmos is discussing with its colleagues from China the possibility of creating a space base on the Moon and is studying the technical parameters of the project's implementation.
🇷🇺🌔🇨🇳 Head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin and the Head of the PRC Mr. Zhang Kejian signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the PRC and the Government of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of establishing an International Scientific Lunar Station.
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- ROSCOSMOS (@roscosmos) March 9, 2021
