In what could be termed as a major development in the field of space exploration, Russia is reportedly planning to collaborate with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in a project proposed to build an international human outpost near the moon. It will be the first lunar space station if successfully built.
According to a report by Popular Mechanics, Russian industry sources have said that Igor Komarov, head of Roscosmos State Corporation, would announce Russia's collaboration with NASA at the upcoming 68th International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, this weekend.
NASA is expected to start the ambitious Deep Space Gateway (DSG) project in the 2020s. Space agencies from Europe, Canada and Japan have been in talks with NASA to contribute to the near-lunar station project DSG but Roscosmos has been staying away from it until now.
If successful, the station will become the destination for astronauts to access the lunar surface. DSG could also be used in exploring Mars in future as NASA initially conceived it to achieve its plan to send humans to the planet.
"The period of exploration in the vicinity of the moon will begin with the first integrated mission of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft, and will continue as we explore further. NASA aims to begin a cadence of one flight per year after the second mission, and the agency has established an initial set of integrated human exploration objectives combining the efforts aboard the International Space Station, SLS and Orion, and other capabilities needed to support human missions to explore deep space," NASA stated.
Popular Mechanics has reported citing industry sources that Roscosmos was planning an "indigenous Earth-orbiting space station to follow up the ISS" besides the lunar programme to send Russian cosmonauts to the surface of the Moon but wasn't able to fund both. This could have made the agency to consider working with NASA on building a near-lunar station.
It may be mentioned that Russian officials have deliberating on the country's space programme of late. Igor Komarov had told TASS news agency at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok earlier this month that Roscosmos was in talks with other partners (for projects).
We will discuss what we will do on the Moon, near the Moon, and the lunar orbital station," Komarov was quoted as saying, "It is important how (near-lunar station) will develop, what would be the contribution from each country, and what will be our participation."
