Research body from EU, Nato state joins China-led moon project, ILRS

[Nan Yang]

A video promotes a joint China-Russia International Lunar Research Station. Some 25 countries and research bodies have joined the project. Photo: China National Space Administration

Research body from EU, Nato state joins China-led moon project, ILRS

• Hungarian Solar Physics Foundation president signs MOU with Deep Space Exploration Laboratory officials, bringing ILRS partners to around 25

Ling Xin in Ohio
Published: 2:00pm, 22 Jul 2024

A research organisation in Hungary has become the latest partner in the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a project led by China and Russia to build a permanent base on the moon around 2035.

Robert Fay-Siebenburgen, president of the Hungarian Solar Physics Foundation, signed a memorandum of understanding on ILRS cooperation with officials from China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in Hefei on Friday, according to the lab’s official WeChat account.

Before the signing ceremony, Fay-Siebenburgen and his delegation held discussions with the lab’s leaders, including Wu Yanhua, chief designer of China’s deep space exploration missions, according to the lab.

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Wu gave an overview of the lab and the latest developments in Chinese space missions. Fay-Siebenburgen “expressed admiration for China’s achievements” and gave a briefing on the foundation’s core activities, international collaboration and future plans, the lab said. The statement did not mention potential contributions the foundation might make to the ILRS project.

The signing of the agreement brought the total number of ILRS partners to around 25, including both state members (national space agencies) and non-state bodies (such as research organisations, institutes, universities and companies).

Confirmed state-level members of ILRS now include China, Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Venezuela, South Africa, Egypt, Nicaragua, Thailand, Serbia, and Kazakhstan.

This month, the Kazakhstan space agency KazCosmos signed an agreement with its Chinese counterpart during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the country. The two planned to work together on the ILRS, and share space data and potentially launch sites.

Meanwhile, the US-led Artemis Programme – which also aims to build a permanent moon base and is often seen as a rival to the ILRS – has attracted 43 nations to sign on to its Artemis Accords. KazCosmos has not signed on to the Artemis Accords.

Both China and the US are working towards putting astronauts on the moon in the coming years. Nasa’s Artemis 3 mission aims to launch in September 2026, while China has said it is on track to conduct a crewed moon landing by 2030.

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The Hungarian Solar Physics Foundation is a non-profit organisation for solar physics research and education based in the city of Gyula. Established in 2016, its key operations have centred on two solar observatories, namely the Bay Zoltán Solar Observatory in Gyula and the Schenk Jabak Solar Observatory in Balatonrendes.

The foundation is a major player in the fields of solar physics and heliospheric physics, according to the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory. It has cooperated extensively with Chinese institutions, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Science and Technology of China.