China’s ambitious initiative to launch an international lunar research station has gained new global cooperation partners. During the opening ceremony of a two-day space conference held in Tunxi, Anhui Province, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and its counterpart in Senegal signed a cooperation agreement on the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).
At the conference, China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) signed memorandums of understanding with 10 institutions from countries including Serbia, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Panama and South Africa. Also among the institutions are the Belt and Road Alliance for Science and Technology, the Africa Space Development Foundation and the Africa Business Alliance.
In 2017, the CNSA officially launched the ILRS cooperation initiative to the international community. To date, more than 40 institutions from around the world have signed cooperation documents with China.
Wu Weiren, director and chief scientist of DSEL, said in his opening speech at the conference that the ILRS adheres to the principles of mutual consultation, joint construction and shared benefits to promote collaborative efforts with global partners. The project will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will see a basic model built by 2035 in the lunar south pole region.
Source: https://www.chinahoje.net/projeto-de-estacao-de-pesquisa-lunar-da-china-recebe-novos-parceiros-internacionais/
