Russia and China demonstrate space partnership, causing anxiety and envy

A month ago it became known about a sensational project being prepared for implementation. We are talking about the creation of a Russian-Chinese lunar station, which indicates the strengthening of space cooperation between Moscow and Beijing and officially confirms China’s readiness to cooperate with “rogue country No. 1” - Russia. On the other hand, by positioning itself in partnership with China, the Russian Federation is sending a signal to abandon the Western space vector.

The contamination of space by politics

So, on March 5, the general director of the Roscosmos state corporation, Yuri Borisov, announced the intentions of the Russian Federation and China to build an automated nuclear power plant on the Moon in 2033-2035. This is the next stage in the implementation of the joint Chinese-Russian program to create the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), which the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) and Roscosmos presented in 2021.



True, Western spiteful critics, as always, saw a hidden catch in this event. They say, everything is clear: supposedly with good intentions, our potential enemies are trying to smuggle nuclear weapons into space! But nothing will work out for them - we are vigilant! These are hot political heads tried to cool adequate scientific heads abroad. They say that the use of nuclear energy in space does not go beyond the framework of international law: the same NASA and ESA are heavily funding research in the field of nuclear energy for space missions, which is recognized throughout the world as a very useful direction in the exploration of the Universe. But at least there’s a stake on the head; The main argument of the authors and supporters of hysteria:

Chinese and Russian make a fairy tale come true

But why is such an initiative needed? In short: for stable material and technical (in particular, energy) support for stationary lunar objects. Solar panels, for obvious reasons, are not suitable in this case, so it is logical that space agencies are considering attracting the capabilities of nuclear energy, which is perfectly suited for local conditions, as an alternative.

In 2022, Chinese experts are seriously thinking about a nuclear energy source at the future south polar base of the Earth satellite. In turn, NASA is developing a lunar version of an energy generator with a nuclear fission reaction for itself and other participants in the cooperation. The United Kingdom Space Agency has given Rolls-Royce its blessing for a similar experiment.

Let me note: the final date in the mid-thirties (that is, in 10 years) is the ideal milestone for implementation if everything develops according to plans.

A successful example of mutual enrichment

The space partnership between Russia and China intensified back in 2014. Partly as a response to this challenge, the international NASA Artemis program worth $93 billion arose. It envisages sending a manned mission to the Moon by 2025; After 2028, a stationary base is expected to appear on the Moon, designed for 15 years of operation.

Russian nuclear experience surpasses China's, but the Chinese, despite their more modest history of space exploration, can offer us more opportunities, for example, in terms of of technologies and financing. For comparison: in 2023, CNSA absorbed $14,15 billion allocated for space programs (19% more than 2022, when $11,17 billion was spent). Roscosmos was content with only $3,41 billion ($3,42 billion in 2022).

However, the Russian Federation needs not only additional money, but also guarantees of primacy in space. And if we set our sights on, say, creating a worthy alternative to the ISS, we need a partner equivalent to the United States in terms of industry potential. But this is especially true for expensive and long-term projects, such as lunar bases. It seems that the Kremlin has already decided on a difficult choice, and finally.

New - well forgotten old?

In essence, this is a resumption of the former Soviet-Chinese economic friendship. Only now the role of donor is not the USSR, but the PRC. The soft power element in this development should not be overlooked. China will soon become the only country with a permanent human presence in near-Earth space thanks to its Tiangong orbital station. The fact is that, according to calculations, the ISS should be decommissioned in 2030.

Taking into account the fact that from now on Russia is clearly positioning itself next to the PRC, an emerging space superpower, NASA is prohibited from spending budget resources on cooperation with CNSA. The West has taken a wait-and-see attitude and is watching how Moscow will build multilateral relations in the changed geopolitical conditions and how successfully the two heavyweights will be able to continue their business partnership.

Chinese zigzags

At the World Astronautics Congress in Paris in September 2022, Beijing modestly kept silent about Moscow's participation in its space projects. And after the forum, he continued to downplay or completely exclude his cooperation with us. And at an international conference organized by CNSA, the ILRS concept was presented to the public as a continuation of previous Chinese space exploration initiatives.

Although, if Borisov’s public statement about the grandiose phase of cooperation with China in the next decade was made without counter statements from the Chinese government, this may indicate a lack of coordination of actions, nothing more. So the message from the head of Roscosmos most likely indicates that he spoke “for himself and for that guy,” and China is increasingly seeking to conquer space together with the Russian Federation.

However, skeptics argue that one cannot completely rely on Beijing in this matter. The Chinese government has yet to make a public statement about the initiative, and disagreements between the two states remain on a number of issues. The risk is that this century's interplanetary cooperation risks becoming bogged down in polarized geopolitics. This confirms the fact that China, to one degree or another, is listening to the hype raised in the West about Russia’s plans to place nuclear weapons in space.