HELSINKI — China wants to work with 50 countries on its ILRS South Pole lunar base program as efforts to attract partners continue.
“We are open and welcome international cooperation from all countries, including the Global South, emerging BRICS countries, as well as Western countries,” Wu Weiren, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, told China Global Television Network (CGTN) ahead of International Moon Day on July 20.
The call comes days after NASA canceled the mission of the VIPER robotic lunar rover that would have searched for ice at the moon’s south pole.
China aims to build a basic International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) by 2035, and an extended station by 2045.
“So far, we have signed agreements with more than 10 countries and nearly 30 international research institutions. We hope to cooperate with 50 countries by inviting 500 foreign scientific research institutions and 5,000 foreign scientific researchers to jointly build our international lunar scientific research station,” Wu said.
China has drawn ten countries, as well as Russia, into this adventure: Venezuela, Belarus, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Egypt, Nicaragua, Thailand, Serbia and, most recently, Kazakhstan.
Turkey has reportedly applied for membership. In the meantime, a series of universities, companies, institutes and regional organizations have signed memoranda of understanding on the ILRS.
The continued diplomatic efforts suggest a delay in earlier plans to attract founding partners for the project.
Chinese officials announced in 2023 that they plan to establish the International Lunar Research Station Cooperation Organization (ILRSCO) later this year. The organization will coordinate and manage the construction of the ILRS lunar base, but its creation has not yet been announced.
China’s efforts have focused primarily on the Global South, to some extent mirroring the country’s broader diplomatic efforts. Subnational diplomacy has also helped bring other countries into the agenda by extension.
The latest example was the signing this month of a memorandum of understanding between the Hungarian Solar Physics Foundation and China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL), headed by Wu.
Bahrain, a signatory to the Artemis Accords, also signed an agreement with China in late May on lunar and deep space exploration.
No explicit agreement has been reached on the ILRS. Bahrain will, however, collaborate with Egypt to jointly develop a hyperspectral imager for the lunar surface materials identification payload for Chang’e-7. This Chinese ILRS precursor mission to the lunar south pole is scheduled to launch in 2026.
Peru, another signatory to the Artemis Accords, is involved in the ILRS through its participation in the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO).
China jointly announced with Russia the launch of the ILRS in June 2021. Since then, China has taken the lead diplomatically after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is also leading in missions, given the recent success of the Chang’e-6 mission and the loss of Luna-25.
The invasion of Ukraine appears to have ended prospects for Western participation in the ILRS project. The European Space Agency has said it will not participate in the ILRS project because of Russian involvement.
The United States has also put in place sanctions and policies prohibiting any cooperation with Russia. In addition, provisions contained in NASA appropriations bills, known as the Wolf Amendment, place severe restrictions on the agency’s ability to interact with Chinese entities.
ILRS: South Pole and Resource Development
Wu also provided some additional information on the ILRS plans, in terms of destination and objectives.
“We are preparing to build a lunar scientific research station at the south pole of the Moon. This scientific research station will be combined with an orbital station and a lunar surface station, as well as ground facilities such as the headquarters of major scientific projects.”
The ILRS “will enable scientific exploration and resource development,” Wu said.
China is preparing two precursor missions, called Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8, to be launched later this decade. They will map and search for resources at the lunar south pole and test in situ resource utilization technologies. Both missions will also involve a number of international partners.
Chang’e-7 will be equipped with a small spacecraft that will explore regions that are constantly in shadow for the presence of water ice. This was the main objective of the VIPER mission.
China wants to build a permanent lunar base and launch five missions to establish energy, communications and other infrastructure. China also wants to send astronauts to the moon before 2030.
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