The China National Space Administration will soon establish an organization to oversee and coordinate the China-led International Lunar Reconnaissance Station. Wu Weiren, director general of the Deep Space Research Laboratory (DSEL), said at a research conference on April 25 that the International Lunar Research Station Cooperative Organization (ILRSCO) will soon be established to coordinate and manage the construction of the ILRS lunar base. The founding members are expected to sign the ILRSCO agreement by June.

CNSA and the Asia-Pacific Organization for Space Cooperation (APSCO) signed a joint statement on ILRS cooperation at the opening ceremony of the first DSEL International Conference on Deep Space Exploration, held in Hefei, Anhui Province, on April 25. APSCO members are China, Bangladesh, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and Thailand. Wu noted that CNSA has signed cooperation agreements or letters of intent with a number of countries and international organizations, including Russia, Argentina, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, following the release of the first ILRS roadmap for the 2021 South China Morning. Post reported.

According to Wu, the project is open to countries and organizations around the world.

“We welcome the participation of developed countries such as the USA and European countries. We also hope that the BRICS countries and some less developed African countries will also join us,” he said.

State media Global Times reported that more than 10 countries are currently negotiating the deal. Venezuela is known to be close to signing an agreement on the ILRS. The ILRS and ILRSCO projects are somewhat similar to the US-led Artemis program and its political underpinnings, the Artemis Agreements, signed by 23 countries. In particular, Russia was declared a joint partner in the ILRS when it was introduced in 2021. However, China’s statements about the plan after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 do not explicitly refer to Russia.

The next steps in China’s lunar exploration plans were also fully determined this week. The next mission is to launch the Queqiao-2 lunar satellite early next year. It will support the Chang’-6 sample return mission scheduled to begin in May 2024. This mission aims to be the first delivery to Earth of samples collected from the far side of the Moon. It will target the southern part of the Apollo basin.

Queqiao-2 is an upgrade of the previous Queqiao satellite, which now supports a lander and rover on the far side of the moon, Chang’e-4. The new spacecraft will also act as a communications vehicle for the Chang’e-7 and 8 missions to the Moon’s south pole. Chang’e-7 includes an orbiter, a lander, a rover, and a jumping spacecraft designed to search for water ice in permanently shadowed craters. The mission will begin in 2026 and will be directed to a landing site in Shackleton Crater at 88.8°S, 123.4°E.

Launched in 2028, Chang’e-8 will include a robot designed to test 3D printing of bricks from the lunar regolith. It will form the basis of the full ILRS project, which will take place in the 2030s. The ILRS currently consists of five missions planned to build nuclear power, communications, astronomical observation and other infrastructure for the robotic research station, which when completed will house the astronauts.

Wu Yanhua of DSEL and former deputy director of CNSA said in his keynote speech on April 25 that the project will require the development of five key infrastructures. These include the Earth-Moon transportation system, the long-term operation system on the Moon’s surface, the transportation system on the Moon’s surface, and research institutions. An upgraded version of the ILRS is expected to be completed by 2050.

Wu Weiren said that China could definitely land astronauts on the moon by 2030. Now the country is working on the equipment necessary to land the crew on the moon.

The Queqiao-2 satellite will be part of the larger constellation Queqiao (meaning “Magpie Bridge”, referring to a story from Chinese mythology). It will provide communications, navigation and remote sensing support for future crewed moon landings and possibly robotic deep space missions. Last month, a top Chinese space official urged China to step up efforts to build lunar infrastructure or forfeit a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure its global role in Moon exploration.