China, Russia to collaborate for constructing Moon base

China and Russia will combine forces for building a new Moon research station paving the way to space cooperation between both, Sky News reported on Wednesday.

The agreement of the project was signed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) head Zhang Kejian and the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) chief Dmitry Rogozin.

The new International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) would welcome any other countries to contribute to research work, the CNSA stated.

No further information regarding the time plan of establishing the station, on the other hand, its construction described as a "comprehensive scientific experiment base with the capability of long-term autonomous operation."

Moreover, it could be constructed on the surface of the moon or in lunar orbit to do "scientific research activities such as the lunar exploration and utilisation, lunar-based observation, basic scientific experiment and technical verification," the statement revealed.