The government’s Committee on Legislative Activities has approved ratification of the Russia–China agreement to cooperate on the International Lunar Station, signed in November of the previous year. The document outlines a joint effort not only to build the lunar facility but also to pursue cooperative lunar science and exploration, reflecting a broad, multi-year collaboration between the two nations with a view toward inviting a wider set of international partners in the future.
Key participants are expected to be the Russian space agency Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration, with potential involvement from other global space agencies as the project develops. The roadmap lays out three distinct phases that structure the work and milestones ahead.
Phase one focuses on unmanned lunar missions designed to map and characterize the surface, identify an optimal site for the lunar station, and test safe-landing technologies. The Russian segment of this phase envisions utilizing the Luna-Glob mission family to conduct initial surface operations and site assessment, ensuring robust mission design before broader commitments are made.
In phase two, resources will be mobilized for station construction and logistics: establishing a centralized mission control for the lunar outpost, delivering cargo and supplies, and assembling the essential orbital modules that will provide power, communications, and a reliable transportation link to Earth. This phase marks a transition from exploration to sustained presence and operational capability on or around the Moon.
The third phase advances further exploration, expands the capabilities of the Lunar Station modules, and opens doors for international cooperation, including potential human landings. It envisions a collaborative framework in which additional spacefaring nations participate, contribute technology, and coordinate crewed missions to the lunar surface as part of a broader scientific and exploratory program.
According to the agreement, goods moved within the scope of the project are to enjoy exemptions from customs duties and taxes, and industry support will be provided to accelerate the creation and deployment of the Moon Station. This fiscal relief is designed to remove barriers to rapid progress and to stimulate related sectors such as spacecraft manufacturing, robotics, and in-situ resource utilization research.
The two capitals—Moscow and Beijing—are pursuing a joint construction plan for the lunar outpost, with coordinated lunar exploration and a shared objective of enabling other countries to participate in future crewed missions to the Moon. The collaboration is framed as a long-term, trilateral or multilateral effort depending on partner nations’ interests and capabilities.
In a development announced in September, South Africa joined the Russia–China initiative aimed at establishing the International Lunar Research Station. The program is described as comprising an orbital space platform around the Moon, a surface research complex, and a robotics park, with invitations extended to other interested states to join the effort as partners in exploration, technology development, and knowledge sharing. This expansion follows earlier statements inviting global participation and emphasizing capacity-building across space programs in affected regions.
Earlier observations by astronomers noted that solar activity can induce subtle tremors on the Moon’s surface twice per lunar day, a phenomenon that informs mission planning and the design of surface instruments. These observations underscore the importance of robust sensing, adaptive surface operations, and resilient infrastructure for future lunar activities.