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The first version of plans for the construction of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a joint project of Russia and China, was presented in June 2021. They decided to build the lunar base in an autonomous mode, carrying out five launches of superheavy rockets from 2030 to 2035. At the second International Conference on Deep Space Research in the Chinese province of Anhui, Beijing announced a more detailed two-stage ILRS plan, in which it assumed a leading role in the project.
The initial stage will be completed approximately in 2035 — the object will be built near the South Pole of the Moon, and a larger complex will be constructed approximately in 2050. The central node will be an orbital lunar station, an object near the South Pole will be used as the main base, in addition, research objects near the equator and on the far side of the Moon are planned.
Solar panels, radioisotope and nuclear generators will be used as ILRS energy sources. The infrastructure includes a line of communication with the Earth, high-speed communication networks on the surface of the Moon, as well as lunar vehicles, including long-range unmanned vehicles, sealed and non-sealed lunar rovers. The results of the project can subsequently be used for future manned landings on Mars. Other countries are now joining the project — Senegal became the 13th. Both China and the United States are planning manned missions to the Moon by the end of the decade.
