China has also explained how it intends to setup a lunar base with two phases: firstly, it will create a series of nodes at and around the surface of the moon and secondly, it will create a series of nodes in lunar orbit.
The initial framework for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) a bilateral project of China and Russia was unveiled in June 2021. The plan outlined below sought to produce a core robotic lunar base over five SSLV missions between 2030 and 2035.
China has since then considered leading on this project and at the second International Deep Space Exploration Conference held in Anhui China on the 5th of September, China unveiled more developed two phase plans for ILRS.
The first phase is designed to build a relatively simple version of a lunar base by 2035 with an upgraded version by around mid-century. As stated by Xinhua, Wu Yanhua, chief designer of China’s deep space exploration project, pointed out that the enlarged plan would build what he defined as a “comprehensive lunar station network system”, being the lunar orbit station the central point and the south pole base, plus exploration nodes at the lunar equator and the far side of the Moon.
Sources of energy for the ILRS will include the solar, radioisotope, nuclear power generators. Additional infrastructure will involve the communication network between the Moon and the Earth, high bandwidth communication on the lunar surface and other lunar mobility including a hopping vehicle, an unmanned long distance vehicle and wheeled, both pressurized and non pressurized crewed rovers.
Wu also added that the ILRS model would be expanded to provide a basis for future missions with manned spacecraft to Mars.
China has been actively looking for partners for the ILRS and during this conference, Senegal became the 13th country partners for the ILRS. However, NASA is heading another program called Artemis which has the goal of putting humans back on the Moon. China and NASA are reportedly also preparing for conquering the moon with the desire of having astronauts on the moon by this end decade.
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