Announced in 2020, the ILRS International Moon Research Base Program was ratified on March 9, 2021 by China and Russia. It is the continuation of the Chinese space agency’s manned lunar program, after Chinese astronauts set foot on Selene soil for the first time, which is expected by the end of the decade.
Planned to be installed at the South Pole, the ILRS project competes with the American Artemis program. Both programs seek to bring together other space powers from around the world. Who joined the laplap Chinese?
Russia, falling short of all expectations
Main partner of the ILRS, Russia is in difficulty with its lunar program. The main reason is that Russian space is heavily impacted by the war in Ukraine. Funding is mainly oriented towards the defense aspect, much less towards exploration. Once the International Space Station (ISS) is de-orbited, Russia is to have its own station named Ross, but the project lacks funds and is constantly postponed.
Russian space, however, is of great help to the ILRS because of its past experience in lunar exploration. Russia has already supplied Chinese lunar missions with radioisotope (RTG) electricity and heat supply systems several times. mission Chang’e 4mission Chang’e 4thanks to which the probe has survived the long lunar night for almost six years on the far side.
But unlike the flawless performance of seven Chinese lunar missions, Russia’s return to the Moon with Luna 25 ended in a crash after a technical problem during the lunar orbit maneuvers. More than 45 years have passed since the last Soviet mission to the Moon. Russia has to relearn a lot.
When geopolitics is transposed to the Moon
In addition to Russia, China has twelve partner countries in the ILRS program. Some of them are already partners of China or Russia in other space projects, or beyond:
- Belarus: small European space power, historic partner of Russian space and friendly country of Vladimir Putin;
- Serbia: Balkan power which has always had links with Russia;
- Azerbaijan: small Asian space power, close to Russia and host of the International Congress ofastronauticsastronautics (IAC) of 2023;
- Kazakhstan: historic partner of Russian space because it hosts the base BaikonurBaikonurfrom where the astronauts leave in spaceships SoyuzSoyuz ;
- Pakistan: important Chinese space partner. Possibly one of the first foreign countries to send an astronaut to the chinese space stationchinese space station ;
- Türkiye: a major space power that plays both roles (NATO member and also a partner of Russia);
- Thailand: emerging Asian space power, in good relations with China and Russia;
- Venezuela: historic partner of Russia and China;
- Nicaragua: new partner of China which reviewed its position on Taiwan in 2021, support of Russia in the war in Ukraine.
It is difficult to know what these partners will bring to the ILRS. It is clear that several of them joined the program to position themselves geopolitically against American leadership. For their part, the accords Artemisaccords Artemis proposed by the United States have more than forty signatory countries, including India, Japan, and most Europeans.
Space Africa, on the lookout for opportunities
African space is in full development. China, Russia and the United States are in the middle of a seduction operation. Leading African space powers, Rwanda, Angola and Nigeria have signed the Artemis agreements, three others have joined the Chinese fold:
- South Africa: Joined the ILRS as a new member of the BRICS alliance energized by China and Russia to confront American domination. South Africa is a major space power on the continent;
- Egypt: one of the most important space powers in Africa. Long linked to European space, Egypt has become a leading partner of China. There is even an institution in Egypt dedicated to this;
- Senegal: rising space power in West Africa which surprised the world by announcing to join the ILRS only a few days after launching its first satellite developed with the support of France.
Other African countries could join the ILRS, such as Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, which are currently discussing new partnerships with the Russian space agency. All three countries are controlled by military juntas that came to power with the support of Russian Wagner Group militias.
Finally, the ILRS also has non-governmental partners around the world, such as private institutions or associations.
Once again, it is difficult to know what they could bring to the constructionconstruction of a lunar base apart from its international character.
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