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China has a new partner in its lunar ambitions: Russia. According to an agreement signed between the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Russia’s Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, the two governments will cooperate in establishing a permanent lunar base, either on the moon’s surface or in lunar orbit.
The memorandum of understanding, signed on March 9, calls for “extensive cooperation” on an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), described as “a comprehensive scientific experiment base with the capability of long-term autonomous operation, built on the lunar surface and/or on the lunar orbit.”
As Namrata Goswami has explained for The Diplomat, three main factors drive China’s interest in the moon: the potential to exploit lunar resources (like water ice, helium-3, and titanium), the chance to develop China’s space capabilities, and the national prestige of China taking global leadership of space exploration. “For Chi