Lunar space station to be built by Russia and China

Plans for the construction of a lunar space station that will serve as a research facility, have been announced by Russia and China.

Who is going to build the lunar station?

The Russian state space corporation Roscosmos and China National Space Administration (CNSA) have already signed the Memorandum of Understanding as part of the agreement between their two respective governments regarding the construction of a space research facility based on the moon (AKA International Lunar Research Station or ILRS). The agreement will have both parties contributing and benefiting from the results of this cooperation.

Who can participate?

The good news is that any interested party, on a global scale, can participate and contribute as a partner in order to promote humanity’s scientific discoveries, and use space for peaceful purposes instead of potential warfare. This is set to further strengthen the political relationships of other countries with Russia and China and provide the maximum gains from scientific research at this research facility. It’s obvious that both countries have taken this seriously, and it will most likely be a huge project that is set to succeed.

Where will it be built?

The research facility is going to be either based on the lunar surface or lunar orbit. This is left open for discussion for now as the possibilities of carrying out experiments of various degrees through both alternatives will yield equally important results. The planning and design of the mobile or fixed constructions will be done by Russia and China. This has a deep meaning and importance for both countries as it will bring them into the “limelight” of space exploration, and show the world that they are well capable of achieving historical success when compared to other space agencies such as NASA.

What kind of experiments will be carried out?

It’s too early to take a look deeper into the matter, as things are still under discussion, but it is stated that the research taking place on the station will be of multi-disciplinary nature. Lunar observation and exploration are still within the scope of the research and it doesn’t exclude the related experiments.

Anything to worry about?

I believe it’s safe to say that the purpose of the facility and its open nature where everybody around the globe can participate, can pretty much guarantee to us that it’s not meant for ill purposes, such as building silos for nuclear warheads based on the moon or other similar war tactics or developing some new type of bio-weapon. We’ve already seen enough movies of this genre, and by adding the COVID-19 pandemic, some folks might understandably start worrying about it.

microorganism bacteria virus with spikes blue color eye in the middle — *Illustration of microorganisms (image by Syaibatul Hamdi from Pixabay).*

Regardless, you should know that any experiments carried out in space, even if they pose a danger to humanity, will be of minimum risk since Earth’s atmosphere will evaporate any form of foreign body or organism before it reaches its surface and our doorstep.

Do you think the lunar station will be built?

What types of experiments do you think they will perform?

Please, let us know in the comments below, and follow & subscribe for more.