Russia may accomplish lunar mission only with broad int'l cooperation - Roscosmos head

MOSCOW. Sept 1 (Interfax) - A lunar research project would require broad international cooperation, Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said during the Znanie (Knowledge) educational marathon on Thursday.

"It is very difficult even for countries such as Russia to implement projects of this kind on their own from the financial point of view and from the angle of necessary competencies. Projects of this kind require the broadest international cooperation," Borisov said.

Russia and China presented a roadmap for a joint lunar base on June 16, 2021. The station project will be carried out from 2026-2035.

It will consist of two orbital and eight lunar modules, including basic telecommunications, command, power, takeoff, landing and experimental modules, as well as modules for observation and technological checks on the lunar surface.

Then Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin said on February 26 that Russia and China had signed an agreement on cooperation and construction of an international lunar research station.

Rogozin said in an interview with Interfax on December 15, 2021, that a key principle of the Russian-Chinese lunar station project is the equality of the partners. The absence of this kind of equality was the main reason Russia quit the U.S. Gateway project.

Roscosmos Deputy Director for International Cooperation Sergei Savelyev said earlier that the state corporation did not rule out the participation of private companies in the project.