The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) is a multinational lunar base initiative jointly led by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos. Since its inception in 2021, many nations have joined the project by signing memoranda of understanding (MoUs) for cooperation. The ILRS aims to establish a base on the lunar surface or in lunar orbit that enables multidisciplinary scientific research, including exploration, resource utilization, and long-term autonomous operations.
For example, the governments of Egypt (represented by the Egyptian Space Agency) and South Africa (represented by the South African National Space Agency) have signed a cooperation agreement with China to join ILRS.
Prerequisites:
• Partnerships with established agencies
• Technical expertise in universities and research centres to design and exploit experiments
• Identification of common needs with partners, identification of capabilities of different partners
• Procurement pathway
• Partner support as needed
• Data policy
• Cybersecurity, data protection, and continuity planning
Cost:
• Ballpark: USD 0.5M–50M (depending on contribution type: experiment vs payload vs full instrument)
• Includes: partnership agreements and diplomatic engagement, development of joint research or experiment, design and testing of payloads/instruments (e.g., CubeSats, sensors), integration with partner spacecraft or programme, participation in mission operations, researcher training and exchanges, dissemination of scientific results
Timeframe:
• Overall: 24–96 mo
• Phase: partnership scoping & agreements (6–12 mo), experiment or payload design & development (12–36 mo), integration & testing (6–18 mo), launch & commissioning (6–12 mo), mission operations & data analysis (12–24 mo)
Pros:
Access to Technology and Expertise - Gain access to advanced technology and expertise from leading space nations.
Reputation Increase - Builds international credibility and technical trust.
Considerations:
Risk of Ineffectiveness - May play a secondary role with limited influence.
Policy Dependency - Dependent on the policies and budgets of leading nations.