Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a bill that commits Russia to work with its partner in tyranny, China, on building a moon base.
China’s state-run Global Times boasted that Russia joined more than 30 other “countries and international organizations” on the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project, 20 of which have signed agreements of some kind to formalize their involvement.
The Global Times did not name the other partners, although it mentioned that Egypt and Bahrain have signed on to China’s next Chang’e lunar probe mission. Egypt was among the countries that expressed interest when China rolled out its moonbase plan in 2021, along with Russia, Venezuela, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, South Africa, Thailand, and Nicaragua.
China’s Chang’e-6 unmanned probe landed on the dark side of the moon on June 2 to collect soil samples, making China the fourth nation to achieve a lunar landing after the United States, Japan, and India.
Chinese state media reported the Chang’e-7 launch, the one involving Egypt and Bahrain, is scheduled for 2026 and will survey the Moon’s south polar region. Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand, and a group called the International Lunar Observatory Association have also committed to providing payloads for the Chang’e-7 mission.
After that, China hopes to achieve a manned lunar landing by 2030, lay the foundations of a moonbase near the lunar south pole by 2035, and bring the base online by 2045. The lunar base was envisioned as a springboard for missions to Mars and beyond. The base would ostensibly be constructed using basalt mined from the Moon’s surface.
