From lunar research to satellite navigation: China-Russia space cooperation reaches new heights

Space cooperation has become one of the key pillars of the China-Russia partnership. Through representative projects such as the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) and the integration of the BeiDou and GLONASS satellite navigation systems, the two countries are advancing a range of initiatives that promote the peaceful exploration and use of outer space.

Building the ILRS

China and Russia have been actively promoting the construction of the ILRS.

In March 2021, the two governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the construction of the ILRS, officially launching bilateral collaboration. The following month, they issued a joint statement committing to build the station alongside other international partners.

Guided by the principles of "co-consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits," the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos aim to foster broad international collaboration, promoting advances in human space technology and socio-economic development. In June 2021, both sides released the ILRS Roadmap (V1.0), outlining a phased approach from project planning and payload development to in-orbit verification and base construction.

The two countries have been working closely on China's Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8 lunar missions. The Chang'e-7 probe, scheduled for launch later this year, has already arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Site. It will carry a Russian scientific instrument designed to study the moon's dust and plasma environment. Chang'e-8, expected to launch around 2029, will conduct experiments near the lunar south pole to support future resource utilization and the construction of the ILRS. The mission will carry Russia's lunar plasma-dust environment sensor and the lunar ion and high-energy neutral particle analyzer.

In May 2025, the CNSA and Roscosmos signed a memorandum on the construction of a power station for the ILRS. Scheduled for completion in 2036, the station will be "an important contribution" to the ILRS project, said Roscosmos, adding that the station "will conduct fundamental space research and test technology for long-term uncrewed operations of the ILRS, with the prospect of a human being's presence on the moon."

Satellite navigation cooperation

China-Russia cooperation in satellite navigation has also achieved major progress.

As early as 2015, the two countries signed an agreement to coordinate their BeiDou and GLONASS systems, initiating efforts to achieve compatibility and interoperability between the two global navigation systems.

The collaboration has been deepened with the Russian-Chinese Roadmap for Cooperation in Satellite Navigation for 2021-2025 signed in 2021, followed by a new cooperation roadmap in 2025, enhancing joint performance monitoring and promoting integrated applications. Cross-border transport projects, joint development of navigation terminals, and location service systems have been implemented, improving positioning accuracy and anti-interference capabilities. These systems have been applied in sectors such as logistics, disaster prevention and reduction, and border management, providing reliable spatiotemporal services globally.

Beyond lunar exploration and navigation, China and Russia are deepening collaboration in space debris monitoring, crewed spaceflight, scientific research and talent cultivation.

Lev Zeleny, chief scientist at the Space Research Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, said the two countries have potential for cooperation in Venus exploration and other celestial bodies, solar-terrestrial physics, deep space astrophysics, and space telescope development. He added that his institute has participated in the lunar exploration project, and Russian researchers have actively cooperated with their Chinese counterparts to conduct comparative studies on the lunar soil.