China and Russia agree to build joint lunar space station
China and Russia have announced plans to build a lunar space
station.
The leaders of the two
countries' respective space agencies signed a memorandum of understanding on
behalf of their national governments.
A statement from both countries'
space agencies says it will be available for use by other nations. “China and
Russia will use their accumulated experience in space science, research and
development as well as the use of space equipment and space technology to
jointly develop a road map for the construction of an international lunar
scientific research station (ILRS)," China's space agency said.
Buoyed by billions of dollars in government investment, China has
rapidly accelerated its space program over the past decade, firing space labs
and satellites into orbit.
Chen Lan, an analyst who specialises in China's space programme,
told AFP news agency that the project was a "big deal".
"This will be the largest international space cooperation
project for China, so it's significant," he said.