China, Russia join forces on lunar outpost project
China and Russia agreed to collaborate on building and operating a robotic scientific outpost on the moon or in lunar orbit, the China National Space Administration announced.
The agency said the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on the joint effort to build an “international lunar research station.” CNSA and the Russian space Roscosmos are working out details of the station’s design, construction and operations.
“Both nations want to open the station to international cooperation so it can serve as a platform to boost scientific exchanges and foster peaceful exploration and development of outer space,” the CNSA statement said.
Harry Kazianis, a senior director at the Washington-based public policy think tank Center for the National Interest, said an “authoritarian alliance in space” should worry the United States.
“This mirrors what China and Russia are doing on sharing weapons technology, economic ties and more,” Kazianis told USA TODAY. “Both nations see space as the next great power battleground. By working together, they can try and blunt any U.S. advantages in this domain of the future.”
Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, U.S. Space Force chief of space operations, said last month that the United States is concerned with developing cyberthreats from China and Russia.
“It’s something that we have to protect against today,” Raymond said. “That’s why the establishment of the U.S. Space Force is so important. We are purposely built to stay ahead.”
China has four missions planned for this year to work on a permanent orbiting station. The core module could be launched as soon as April.
Russia has collaborated with space agencies from the United States, Canada, Japan and Europe on the International Space Station for decades. Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, said, “We appreciate the Russian-U.S. cooperation in the outer space. We hope it will be continued and hope it will not fall victim to various Russophobic manifestations.”