What is the International Lunar Research Station, and Why is It Important?

A New Era of Lunar Exploration

A new chapter in humanity’s long and storied relationship with the Moon is being written. The fleeting visits of the 20th century, defined by flags and footprints, are giving way to a more ambitious and enduring vision: the establishment of a permanent, sustainable human presence on our nearest celestial neighbor. At the forefront of this monumental undertaking is the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a landmark initiative poised to redefine the future of space exploration. Led by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Russia’s Roscosmos, the project represents a fundamental shift in philosophy. It moves beyond the concept of singular, short-term missions toward the creation of a lasting scientific and industrial foothold on the lunar surface and in orbit around it.

The ILRS is not merely a scientific outpost; its development is a major geopolitical event. It signals the dawn of a new era in space, one defined by multipolar competition, the formation of strategic international partnerships, and a determined quest for off-world resources. The station is officially defined as a comprehensive set of complex research facilities, designed for a wide range of multi-disciplinary scientific activities, including deep exploration of the Moon, unique Moon-based observations of Earth and the cosmos, and the verification of technologies that will be essential for humanity’s next great leap into the solar system. From its very inception, the project has been framed as an open platform, with its founding partners extending an invitation to all interested countries and international organizations to participate in its construction and operation. This collaborative approach underscores a new model for space exploration, one that seeks to build a broad coalition to achieve what no single nation can easily accomplish alone.

The Vision for a Permanent Lunar Presence

Defining the ILRS: More Than a Moon Base

The International Lunar Research Station is conceived on a scale that transcends the traditional idea of a “moon base.” It is officially described as a comprehensive scientific experiment base, an integrated and complex system with its components distributed across three distinct domains: a primary segment on the lunar surface, a supporting segment in lunar orbit, and a command and data segment on Earth. This distributed architecture is the foundation for a sophisticated, long-term operational plan. The ultimate vision is to create an expandable and maintainable outpost capable of operating for decades, marking a deliberate transition from the era of pure exploration to the initial stages of lunar settlement and resource utilization.

This represents a significant philosophical shift in how humanity approaches off-world habitation. The ILRS is not being designed as a destination for a handful of discrete, nationally-focused missions, but rather as a piece of permanent, shared infrastructure. The language used in its foundational documents—phrases like “complex of facilities,” “expandable and maintainable,” and “long-term autonomous operation”—intentionally invokes a comparison to enduring terrestrial scientific installations, such as the network of international research stations in Antarctica or deep-sea observatories. This framing is a strategic choice. It makes participation more accessible and sustainable for a wide array of international partners. Countries that may lack their own independent launch capabilities or human spaceflight programs can still contribute meaningfully to a permanent scientific facility, whether by providing a single instrument, offering ground station support, or committing scientific personnel to analyze the data that flows back to Earth. This inclusive model positions the Moon not as a distant world to be visited, but as a permanent extension of human scientific and, eventually, industrial activity. Official statements from the project’s proponents articulate this grand ambition, describing the ILRS as the first “extraterrestrial home” for humanity, designed to serve a “community of human destiny.”

A Robotic-First, Human-Optional Philosophy

A core design principle of the International Lunar Research Station is its capacity for long-term autonomous operation, with human participation planned as a series of short-term, targeted missions. This “robotic-first, human-optional” philosophy is a pragmatic and strategic approach to the immense challenges of establishing a permanent off-world presence. The early phases of construction will be heavily, if not entirely, reliant on advanced robotic systems. These systems will be tasked with everything from landing massive cargo payloads to deploying core infrastructure and even carrying out the autonomous installation of the station’s primary nuclear power plant. Human crews are not expected to arrive until after this foundational infrastructure is fully functional, tested, and verified. When astronauts do visit, they will arrive at an established, operational worksite, allowing them to focus their limited and valuable time on conducting high-level scientific experiments and overseeing complex maintenance tasks, rather than on basic construction.

This architectural choice serves as a powerful de-risking strategy, providing the entire program with a level of resilience against the political, financial, and technical volatility that is inherent in any large-scale human spaceflight endeavor. Human-rated space systems are exponentially more expensive, complex, and politically sensitive than their robotic counterparts. The safety requirements are far more stringent, the life support technologies are incredibly challenging to perfect, and the political fallout from a mission failure involving human life can be catastrophic for a national space program. By prioritizing robotics for the initial construction and long-term maintenance, the ILRS program can achieve steady, incremental progress on a more predictable and financially manageable timeline. This progress can continue independently of the readiness of crewed launch vehicles or next-generation life support systems.

This approach offers a notable contrast to other lunar programs where timelines have been heavily influenced by politically-driven deadlines for landing astronauts on the surface—deadlines that have often proven difficult to meet. The ILRS’s strategy allows it to build a fully operational, scientifically valuable asset even if its human missions are postponed for technical or financial reasons. This ensures that the project can deliver tangible results and scientific returns throughout its decades-long development cycle, making the overall program more robust, sustainable, and less susceptible to the shifting winds of political and budgetary cycles.

The Strategic Importance of the Lunar South Pole

The International Lunar Research Station will be centered around the Moon’s south pole region, a location that has become the focal point of intense international interest and is now considered the most valuable real estate on the lunar surface. This strategic choice is driven by a wealth of scientific data suggesting that the permanently shadowed craters dotting the polar landscape may hold significant deposits of water ice. This resource is the key to unlocking a sustainable future on the Moon. ILRS precursor missions, such as the planned Chang’e-7, are specifically designed to perform detailed surveys of this strategically vital area, mapping the environment and characterizing the distribution and concentration of these potential resources.

The focus on the South Pole is not merely a matter of scientific curiosity; it is a calculated strategic move. Water ice is widely regarded as the most critical in-situ resource on the Moon. It can be harvested and processed to produce breathable air and drinking water for life support systems, but its most valuable application is in the production of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen—the two primary components of modern rocket propellant. A base with direct, reliable access to large quantities of water ice would possess an enormous logistical advantage. It could, in effect, become a refueling depot in the sky, dramatically reducing the cost and complexity of missions to Mars and other destinations in the deep solar system by allowing spacecraft to launch from Earth with less fuel and top up their tanks at the Moon.

By aiming to establish the first permanent outpost at the South Pole, the ILRS consortium is positioning itself to set the initial precedents for resource extraction rights and to establish operational areas that could effectively control access to these prime locations. This transforms the scientific objective of studying lunar ice into a geopolitical objective of controlling the gateway to a future cislunar economy. The nation or coalition that first masters the technology to extract and utilize this water will not only ensure the sustainability of its own lunar operations but will also hold a powerful position of influence over all future activities in the Earth-Moon system.

Origins and Development

Paving the Way: The Legacy of the Chang’e and Luna Programs

The International Lunar Research Station is not a project that was conceived in a vacuum. It is the logical and deliberate culmination of China’s methodical, multi-decade lunar strategy, a strategy that has been executed with remarkable success through its national Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP), more famously known as the Chang’e program. This program has systematically and progressively achieved the core capabilities required for such an ambitious undertaking, moving from orbiting the Moon, to landing on its surface, to returning samples back to Earth. Foundational missions have provided the essential technical expertise and operational experience needed to attempt a permanent base. Chang’e-4’s historic first-ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon demonstrated high-precision landing and long-duration surface operations, while Chang’e-5’s successful robotic sample return mission in 2020 proved China’s mastery of the complex sequence of rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit.

This systematic progression was by design. Unlike space programs that often begin with a grand, politically-driven vision and then race to develop the necessary technology, China’s approach has been engineering-focused and incremental. Each mission in the Chang’e series was designed to test a specific set of capabilities required for the next, more complex step. This deliberate, step-by-step process—from orbiter to lander, rover to sample return—was intended to build the technological and operational blocks required for a permanent outpost. The ILRS was the planned architectural endpoint all along. The fourth phase of the CLEP, which includes the Chang’e-6 far-side sample return mission, the Chang’e-7 south pole resource survey, and the Chang’e-8 in-situ resource utilization technology test, is officially designated as the first phase of the ILRS program. This means that by the time the ILRS was formally announced to the world, China already possessed proven hardware, a deep well of operational knowledge, and a series of precursor missions already in advanced stages of development.

Russia’s contribution to this legacy is also significant. The historic Luna program of the Soviet era pioneered robotic lunar exploration, and while the recent Luna-25 mission ended in failure, Russia’s deep reservoir of experience in space operations remains a valuable asset. Future planned missions, including the Luna-26 orbiter, the Luna-27 lander, and the Luna-28 sample return mission, are all integrated into the official ILRS development roadmap, forming a key part of the project’s reconnaissance and construction phases.

The Sino-Russian Partnership

The formal partnership that underpins the ILRS was officially initiated on March 9, 2021, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the China National Space Administration and Russia’s Roscosmos. This foundational agreement was quickly followed by a joint public statement in April 2021, and then, in a major reveal to the international space community, the public release of the official “Roadmap of ILRS” and “Guide for Partnership” at the Global Space Exploration Conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, in June 2021. This collaboration was designed from the outset to be a synergistic one, leveraging the distinct strengths of each nation. Russia brings to the table decades of experience in long-duration spaceflight and, most importantly, its unparalleled expertise in developing nuclear power systems for space applications. China, in turn, provides the partnership with robust and consistent state funding, a rapidly advancing technological base, and a proven track record of recent successful lunar missions.

the geopolitical landscape has shifted dramatically since the partnership was first announced. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent imposition of widespread international sanctions, the dynamic of the Sino-Russian space partnership has become visibly asymmetric. In the early stages, official documents and announcements emphasized a joint leadership structure. More recently, China has often taken the solo lead in diplomatic outreach and has sometimes downplayed or even omitted Russia’s role when presenting the project at international forums. Russia’s space program has faced significant challenges, including funding constraints and the high-profile failure of its Luna-25 lander, which was a designated ILRS reconnaissance mission. In stark contrast, China’s program has continued its string of successes, most notably with the flawless execution of the Chang’e-6 far-side sample return mission.

As a result, China has clearly emerged as the diplomatic and technical leader of the ILRS initiative. It is China that is leading the outreach to new international partners and establishing the permanent headquarters for the project’s governing body in the city of Hefei. Russia’s role, while still important, has become more focused and specialized. Its primary and most valuable contribution is now centered on its unique and essential expertise in developing the nuclear power plant that will be the heart of the lunar station’s energy system. This has transformed the relationship from a partnership of equals into one where China is the primary architect and driver of the project, with Russia serving as an indispensable technical partner in a critical technological niche.

The Phased Roadmap: Reconnaissance, Construction, and Utilization

The development of the International Lunar Research Station is a long-term endeavor, meticulously structured into three distinct phases that will unfold over more than two decades. This methodical, step-by-step approach is designed to manage technical risk, build capabilities incrementally, and ensure that each stage of development is built upon a solid foundation of proven technology and operational experience.

The first phase, Reconnaissance, spans from 2021 to 2025. The primary objectives of this initial phase are to conduct detailed reconnaissance of the lunar south pole, perform in-depth analysis to support the final selection of the base’s primary and backup sites, and to verify the advanced technologies required for secure, high-precision soft landings in the challenging polar terrain. This phase doesn’t rely on entirely new missions but instead leverages a series of existing and already-planned robotic missions from both China and Russia. These include China’s successful Chang’e-4 and Chang’e-6 missions, the upcoming Chang’e-7 polar explorer, and Russia’s planned Luna-26 orbiter and Luna-27 lander.

The second phase, Construction, is the heart of the project and is planned to run from 2026 to 2035. This important phase is itself divided into two distinct stages. Stage 1, from 2026 to 2030, is focused on advanced technology verification and the initial deployment of key systems. This will involve missions like China’s Chang’e-8, which will test in-situ resource utilization technologies, and Russia’s Luna-28, which will attempt a robotic sample return from the south pole. This stage will also see the first demonstrations of massive-cargo delivery to the lunar surface and the beginning of joint operations between different assets at the selected site. Stage 2, from 2031 to 2035, marks the comprehensive establishment of the station’s core surface and in-orbit facilities. This will be an intensive period of construction, accomplished through a series of five dedicated heavy-lift missions, designated ILRS-1 through ILRS-5. These missions will deliver and install the foundational elements of the base: the primary energy systems, the command and communication hubs, transportation assets, and the first set of scientific research facilities. The goal is to have a basic, functional, and largely autonomous station completed by the end of 2035.

The third and final phase, Utilization, is set to begin in 2036 and continue indefinitely. With the core infrastructure in place and operational, the focus will shift to leveraging the station’s capabilities. This phase will involve conducting long-term, in-depth scientific research, verifying technologies for future deep space missions, and, most significantly, supporting the first crewed missions to the station. During this phase, the ILRS will be an expandable and evolving outpost, with new modules and capabilities being added as needed to support an increasingly sophisticated program of scientific exploration and technology development.

Architecture and Infrastructure

A Distributed System: Surface, Orbit, and Ground Segments

The architecture of the International Lunar Research Station is not that of a single, monolithic structure, but rather a complex and distributed system with integrated components spanning three distinct operational domains. The primary segment will be located on the lunar surface, centered at the south pole. This will be complemented by a lunar orbit segment, which will include a space station and communication relay satellites. Finally, a critical Earth-based ground segment will provide the necessary support for command, control, and data processing. This integrated network is designed to support sophisticated, long-term scientific and operational activities.

The overall project is broken down into five primary facilities, each with a distinct and vital function. Together, these facilities form a cohesive system that addresses all aspects of lunar exploration, from the journey there and back to the long-term support of scientific research and surface operations.

Cislunar and Surface Transportation: The Logistics Backbone

The logistical foundation of the ILRS rests on two interconnected facilities designed to move hardware, supplies, and eventually people between Earth and the Moon, and across the lunar surface itself. The Cislunar Transportation Facility is responsible for the entire end-to-end logistics chain. This includes the heavy-lift rockets that will launch payloads from Earth, the transfer vehicles that will carry them to lunar orbit, the high-precision landers that will bring them to the surface, the ascent vehicles that will return samples and crew to orbit, and the re-entry capsules that will bring them safely back to Earth. It is a comprehensive system designed to ensure a reliable and repeatable transportation link.

Complementing this is the Lunar Transportation and Operation Facility, a sophisticated fleet of mobile assets designed for a wide range of surface activities. This is not just a single rover, but an entire suite of vehicles tailored for different tasks. The plans include advanced rovers for exploration, intelligent “hopping” robots capable of traversing extremely difficult terrain or entering craters, and specialized heavy-duty vehicles for cargo transportation, excavation of lunar regolith, and the collection of scientific samples. This fleet will feature both pressurized rovers, which will act as mobile habitats allowing human crews to undertake long-duration excursions lasting for days or weeks, and smaller, unpressurized rovers for shorter tasks and robotic operations.

The explicit architectural decision to create a dedicated “Transportation and Operation Facility” is significant. It reveals that the ILRS is being designed not as a static, isolated outpost, but as a dynamic and powerful logistical hub. Traditional concepts of a moon base often focus on a single, fixed habitat. The ILRS architecture, by contrast, deliberately separates the static “Long-term Support Facility” from the mobile “Transportation and Operation Facility.” The inclusion of systems specifically designed for “massive-cargo delivery,” “excavation,” and “cargo transportation” points to a vision of industrial-scale activity, not just laboratory-based science. This implies that the base is not merely a scientific observatory but is intended to be the central node in a much larger network of operations. It is being built to support the construction of further infrastructure, to access and exploit resources across a wide geographical region, and potentially to service other assets on the Moon. This is a plan for a “lunar logistics network,” not just a “lunar lab.”

Core Surface Facilities: Command, Support, and Operations

The heart of the International Lunar Research Station will be its core surface and ground facilities, which will serve as the central nervous system for the entire enterprise. The Long-term Support Facility on the Lunar Surface will be the primary hub of activity on the Moon. It will house the station’s main command center, from which all robotic and human activities on the surface will be coordinated. It will also contain the primary energy supply systems, the central communication and navigation hubs that will link the base to orbit and to Earth, and the various modules required for day-to-day operations management.

Adjacent to this will be the Lunar Scientific Facility, which will house the dedicated laboratories and advanced instrumentation needed to carry out the station’s ambitious research program. This is where scientists, both on-site and remotely from Earth, will analyze geological samples, conduct biological experiments, and test new technologies in the unique lunar environment.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Ground Support and Application Facility will play an equally vital role. This facility will be responsible for managing all launches from Earth, coordinating complex mission operations in real-time, and serving as the central hub for the vast amounts of scientific data that will flow back from the Moon. It will process, archive, and distribute this data to scientists and partner institutions around the world, ensuring that the knowledge gained from the ILRS is shared among all participants.

The creation of this dedicated Ground Support and Application Facility on Earth, with its key operational and data centers located in Hefei, China, is a strategic move that solidifies China’s central role in the entire ILRS ecosystem. While the hardware of the station will be on the Moon, its “brain” and institutional memory will reside on Earth. The ILRSCO headquarters in Hefei is planned to house the most important centers for the entire project: the design simulation center, the mission operation control center, the scientific data processing center, and the secure lunar sample storage and research facility. This centralized structure means that while international partners will contribute hardware and conduct their own experiments, the central nervous system of the project—the high-level command, the primary data analysis pipelines, and the training of the next generation of lunar explorers—will be firmly under Chinese management. This ensures that China remains the nexus for all ILRS activities, cementing its leadership role within the coalition and maximizing the long-term strategic and scientific benefits it derives from the project.

Powering the Outpost: The Role of a Lunar Nuclear Reactor

A reliable and powerful energy source is the single most important requirement for a permanent lunar settlement, and it presents one of the greatest technical challenges. The lunar cycle includes a night that lasts for approximately 14 Earth days, a period of extreme cold and total darkness during which solar panels are completely ineffective. To overcome this, a cornerstone of the ILRS plan is a joint Sino-Russian project to develop and deploy a nuclear power plant on the Moon, with a target completion date between 2033 and 2035. This is considered an essential technology, as it is the only currently feasible option for providing the continuous, high-wattage power needed to sustain a large, industrial-scale base through the long lunar night.

The construction and installation of this reactor are planned to be carried out entirely autonomously by robotic systems, a feat of engineering that has never been attempted before. This ambitious plan leverages Russia’s significant and unique expertise in designing and operating nuclear systems for space applications, a legacy stretching back to the Soviet era. The nuclear reactor will not be the sole source of energy but will be the heart of a diversified power grid that also includes large solar arrays for generating power during the lunar day and smaller radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) for providing consistent, low-level power to remote instruments or rovers.

While specific technical details are still in development, preliminary concepts suggest a powerful fission reactor capable of generating up to half a megawatt of electricity. This level of power is far beyond what would be needed for a simple scientific outpost and is more in line with the energy requirements of a small town or an industrial facility. Chinese engineering proposals have explored advanced designs that may incorporate annular (ring-shaped) fuel rods and a liquid metal alloy coolant to enhance heat dissipation and extend the reactor’s operational life well beyond that of previous space-based nuclear systems.

The decision to pursue nuclear power is a major technological and geopolitical statement. Technologically, it signals an ambition for a truly permanent, continuously productive lunar presence that far surpasses what is possible with solar power and batteries alone. A nuclear-powered base can support energy-intensive activities around the clock, including large-scale mining and processing of local resources, advanced manufacturing, and the operation of a large, multi-module habitat. Geopolitically, this decision locks in Russia as an indispensable partner for the foreseeable future. Russia’s expertise in space-based nuclear systems is a critical asset that China currently lacks, and this technological dependency gives Russia long-term strategic leverage within the ILRS framework, ensuring its continued importance to the project’s ultimate success.

Scientific and Exploration Objectives

The International Lunar Research Station is designed as a platform for a broad and ambitious program of scientific inquiry. The research activities are intended to be multi-disciplinary and multi-purpose, aimed at both making fundamental discoveries about the Moon and the universe, and developing the practical technologies needed to enable long-term human habitation in space.

Unlocking Lunar Secrets: Geology and Internal Structure

A primary set of the ILRS’s scientific objectives is focused on answering fundamental questions about the Moon itself. The station will serve as a base for detailed studies of the Moon’s topography, geomorphology, and complex geological structure. A key goal is to understand the Moon’s internal physics and its chemical composition, which holds clues to its formation and evolution. Future missions, particularly those operating from the south pole base, will conduct comprehensive investigations of the region, using a suite of advanced instruments to construct detailed geological profiles and high-resolution maps of both the surface and the subsurface structure. A network of scientific instruments, including ground-penetrating radars to probe beneath the regolith and highly sensitive seismometers to detect “moonquakes,” will be deployed across the lunar surface. The data from these instruments will allow scientists to model the Moon’s deep interior, from its crust and mantle down to its core, and to piece together the 4.5-billion-year history of our nearest celestial neighbor.

A New Window to the Cosmos: Lunar-Based Astronomy

The ILRS will provide an unparalleled platform for astronomy, opening a new window to the cosmos. Lunar-based astronomical observation is a key scientific driver for the project. The ILRS-5 mission, planned for 2035, is specifically dedicated to establishing advanced astronomy and Earth observation capabilities on the lunar surface. The Moon offers several unique advantages as an astronomical observatory. Its lack of a significant atmosphere means that telescopes on its surface can observe the universe without the distortion and absorption that blurs images from Earth-based observatories. More importantly, the far side of the Moon is permanently shielded from the constant barrage of radio emissions from Earth. This makes it the most radio-quiet location in the inner solar system, an ideal place to build radio telescopes that can listen for the faint signals from the early universe, a feat that is impossible from Earth. As a precursor to these advanced facilities, the Chang’e-7 lander is scheduled to carry a small lunar-based telescope provided by the International Lunar Observatory Association, a Hawaii-based non-profit organization, marking one of the first international scientific collaborations for the ILRS.

Studying the Cislunar Environment and Earth from Afar

The station will also serve as a unique platform to study the complex and dynamic environment of cislunar space—the region between the Earth and the Moon—and to conduct novel observations of our own planet. The scientific goals include investigating the intricate gravitational and electromagnetic interactions within the Sun-Earth-Moon system. Instruments at the ILRS will monitor the flow of the solar wind and its interaction with the Moon’s surface, and will make detailed observations of phenomena that are difficult to study from Earth, such as the structure and dynamics of Earth’s vast magnetotail and its surrounding plasmasphere. The Chang’e-7 mission will carry a specialized spectrometer, jointly developed by Swiss and Chinese scientists, that will be placed on the mission’s orbiter. From its vantage point in lunar orbit, this instrument will monitor the total amount of radiation Earth receives from the Sun and the amount it radiates back into space, providing a new and highly valuable dataset for climate scientists studying Earth’s energy balance.

Living Off the Land: In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)

Perhaps the most important technological objective of the ILRS is to master the practice of in-situ resource utilization, or ISRU—the ability to “live off the land” by harvesting and using local materials. This capability is the essential bridge that will transform the ILRS from a dependent outpost, reliant on a long and expensive supply chain from Earth, into a self-sustaining and eventually productive settlement. The prohibitive cost of launching every kilogram of material from Earth is the primary logistical and economic bottleneck for any long-term off-world presence. By learning to use the resources already on the Moon, the ILRS can dramatically reduce its reliance on Earth for critical supplies like water, oxygen, and construction materials.

This strategic focus is evident in the ILRS roadmap. The Chang’e-8 mission, scheduled for launch in 2028, is specifically dedicated to testing and verifying key ISRU technologies. Planned experiments for this mission include demonstrations of 3D-printing, using processed lunar soil, or regolith, to create solid bricks and other structural components. The ILRS-3 mission, part of the main construction phase, is focused entirely on establishing comprehensive ISRU technology verification facilities on the lunar surface. The primary resources of interest are the water ice believed to be trapped in polar craters and the abundant minerals found in the lunar regolith. Water can be processed into life support consumables and rocket propellant, while regolith can be used as a raw material for construction, radiation shielding, and potentially for extracting metals like aluminum, iron, and titanium. By prioritizing ISRU technology demonstration in its early phases, the ILRS program is tackling this fundamental challenge head-on, with the long-term vision of turning the Moon from a perpetual cost center into a productive asset.

Biology and Medicine in a Lunar Environment

The ILRS is designed to be a laboratory for conducting a wide range of biological and medical experiments, a field of study that is essential for enabling future long-duration human missions into deep space. The ILRS-4 mission is specifically tasked with verifying the technologies needed for advanced biomedical experiments in the unique lunar environment. This research will focus on understanding the long-term effects of the two most significant environmental challenges for human health beyond Earth: partial gravity and increased radiation exposure. The Moon’s gravity is only one-sixth that of Earth’s, and scientists need to understand how this reduced gravity affects the human body, including potential bone density loss and muscle atrophy, over months and years. The Moon also lacks a protective atmosphere and magnetic field, exposing its surface to much higher levels of galactic cosmic rays and solar radiation. Experiments at the ILRS will study the effects of this environment on a wide range of living organisms, from microbes and plants to, eventually, the human crews who will visit the station. This research is not only vital for ensuring the health and safety of future lunar inhabitants but will also provide the foundational knowledge needed to design the life support and radiation protection systems for crewed missions to Mars.

A Global Collaboration

Governance and Management: The ILRS Cooperation Organization (ILRSCO)

To manage a project of such immense international scope and technical complexity, the participating nations will establish a dedicated governing body: the International Lunar Research Station Cooperation Organization (ILRSCO). This organization will be responsible for coordinating all aspects of the station’s design, construction, and operation, and for managing the sharing of scientific data and results among all partners. The permanent headquarters for ILRSCO will be located in the Deep Space Science City in Hefei, a major technology hub in China’s Anhui province. This headquarters will be a comprehensive facility, housing a suite of critical centers, including a design and simulation center, a primary mission operation control center, a scientific data processing and archiving center, a secure facility for the storage and research of returned lunar samples, and an international training center for scientists and engineers from partner nations.

The governance model for ILRSCO is reportedly inspired by successful international scientific collaborations like CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. It is expected to feature a funding model where contributions from member states are scaled according to their GDP, and a system of voting rights within the governing council that is proportional to each member’s contribution. This structure is designed to provide a clear and equitable framework for decision-making.

The creation of ILRSCO, with its permanent headquarters and key operational centers located in China, is a deliberate act of institutional statecraft. It is designed to create a permanent, China-led international body for space exploration that will exist and exert influence long after the ILRS itself is built. An international organization with a physical headquarters, a formal charter, a dedicated budget, and a defined governance structure is a powerful instrument of soft power and long-term global influence. By hosting the headquarters and its most important functional centers, China ensures that the institutional knowledge, the primary control infrastructure, and the development of the next generation of talent will all reside on its soil. This is a strategic, long-term play. Even if specific missions face delays or setbacks, the organization itself will continue to function—holding conferences, training international scientists, and shaping the international norms and standards for lunar exploration, all under Chinese stewardship. It creates a durable institutional alternative to Western-led space forums and governance models.

The Growing Coalition: Partners and Contributions

While China and Russia are the founding members and primary drivers of the ILRS, the coalition of participating nations and organizations has been steadily expanding. The project’s inclusive approach has attracted a growing list of national partners, primarily from the Global South and emerging space nations. These include Venezuela, South Africa, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Belarus, Egypt, Thailand, Nicaragua, Serbia, Kazakhstan, and Senegal. In addition to national space agencies, several international and regional organizations have also formally joined the initiative, most notably the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), a Beijing-headquartered body that provides a cooperative mechanism for developing countries in the region. China has publicly stated its ambitious goal to attract a total of 50 countries, 500 research institutions, and 5,000 individual scientists to the project over the next decade.

The contributions from these international partners are diverse and are tailored to their specific capabilities and national interests. This flexible approach allows countries at all levels of space development to participate meaningfully. For example, Venezuela’s primary contribution is providing access to its important ground stations for tracking and communication with ILRS missions. Pakistan’s space agency, SUPARCO, is developing a small, 30-kilogram rover that will be delivered to the Moon as part of the Chang’e-8 mission to contribute to terrain mapping and regolith analysis. Thailand’s National Astronomical Research Institute is contributing a scientific instrument designed to detect high-energy cosmic ray particles. In a multilateral collaboration, Egypt and Bahrain are jointly developing a hyperspectral camera that will fly on the Chang’e-7 mission to identify different materials on the lunar surface. This growing list of partners and tangible contributions demonstrates the project’s increasing diplomatic momentum and its appeal as an alternative platform for international space cooperation.

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A Framework for Participation: Levels of Cooperation

A key element of the ILRS’s strategy for building a broad international coalition is its highly flexible, multi-tiered framework for participation. The official “Guide for Partnership,” released jointly by CNSA and Roscosmos, outlines a system that allows partners to contribute at various levels of complexity, investment, and technical capability. This modular and scalable approach is designed for maximum inclusivity, creating a “big tent” project where nations at all stages of space development can find a meaningful role.

The framework is broken down into five distinct categories of cooperation. At the highest level, Category A: Space Mission Cooperation, partners can contribute at the mission level, participating systematically in the development of the station’s general architecture, scientific objectives, and overall roadmap. Below this, Category B: Space System Cooperation allows a partner to develop, in cooperation with China or Russia, at least one complete space system, such as an independent energy module, a scientific rover, or a specialized robot. Category C: Subsystem Cooperation offers the opportunity to provide one or more space subsystems for a defined mission, such as a full scientific payload package, a navigation unit, or a communications subsystem. At a more accessible level, Category D: Equipment Cooperation allows partners to supply specific pieces of equipment, such as individual scientific instruments, components for a navigation system, or a robotic arm. Finally, Category E: Ground and Application Cooperation provides an entry point for partners who may not have space hardware manufacturing capabilities. Contributions in this category can include providing ground station support for tracking and communications, participating in in-orbit operations and maintenance, contributing to the construction of a joint data center, or dedicating scientific personnel to data analysis and application development.

This tiered framework is the primary mechanism for achieving the ambitious goal of recruiting 50 countries into the project. A traditional space partnership often requires a country to contribute a major piece of hardware or a significant financial investment, creating a high barrier to entry that excludes most of the world’s nations. The ILRS model, by contrast, is designed to lower that barrier. A country with no domestic space industry can still join at Category E by offering the use of its geographical location for a ground station or by committing its university researchers to participate in data analysis. A research institute can contribute a single instrument at Category D. This approach is a diplomatic strategy as much as it is a technical one. It allows China to rapidly expand its coalition by offering a low-cost, high-prestige entry point into a major lunar program, maximizing the number of national flags associated with the project and thereby broadening its international legitimacy and political support.

The Geopolitical Landscape

A Tale of Two Programs: ILRS and the Artemis Accords

The emergence of the International Lunar Research Station cannot be understood in isolation. It is widely and correctly viewed as a parallel initiative and a direct competitor to the United States-led Artemis Program and its associated political framework, the Artemis Accords. While both of these ambitious programs share the overarching goal of establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon, they represent distinct and competing geopolitical blocs, each with its own philosophy, partnership model, and set of guiding principles. To date, this has created a clear divide in the international space community, with no country having yet signed on as a full national partner to both initiatives.

The Artemis Accords, co-led by NASA and the U.S. State Department, are a series of non-binding, bilateral agreements that outline a set of principles for peaceful and transparent lunar exploration. They are presented as a political commitment to interpreting and applying existing international space law, such as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, to modern lunar activities. In contrast, the ILRS is a project-based coalition, a specific program to build a specific piece of infrastructure, which will be managed by a formal international organization, the ILRSCO.

The two programs also differ in their immediate focus and approach. The Artemis program is more explicitly centered on leveraging commercial partnerships, with private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin playing a central role in developing key components like lunar landers. It also has a more aggressive, politically-driven timeline for near-term human landings. The ILRS, on the other hand, prioritizes a longer-term, robotic-first construction phase. Its roadmap is more methodical, with a strong emphasis on building a solid scientific and infrastructural foundation before crewed missions are attempted. This fundamental divergence in leadership, governance, timelines, and philosophy has effectively created two distinct paths to the Moon, each attracting its own coalition of international partners.

Navigating a New Space Race

The contemporary competition for the Moon is fundamentally different from the politically charged space race of the 20th century. While national prestige remains a powerful motivator, the current contest is also about securing tangible and long-term strategic advantages. This includes gaining control over potential lunar resources, particularly the water ice at the south pole, and, just as importantly, having the opportunity to establish the international norms, legal precedents, and technical standards that will govern all future space activities.

The two competing programs embody starkly different approaches to achieving these goals. China’s strategy for the ILRS is characterized by centralized, state-led planning. This model provides a high degree of long-term funding stability and programmatic consistency, allowing for methodical progress on a multi-decade timeline without the disruptions of annual budget cycles or shifting political priorities. In contrast, the U.S. model for Artemis relies heavily on commercial partnerships. NASA is outsourcing the development of critical systems, like the Human Landing System, to private companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. This strategy is designed to foster innovation, drive down costs, and stimulate the growth of a commercial space economy, but it also introduces a degree of market and technical volatility that is not present in the state-led model.

This divergence extends to their diplomatic strategies. The ILRS partnership-building effort is heavily focused on the “Global South,” attracting nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This effectively extends China’s terrestrial diplomatic initiatives, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, into the space domain, offering developing nations a prestigious and accessible entry point into lunar exploration. The U.S., through the Artemis Accords, is building a coalition of “like-minded partners,” primarily consisting of its traditional allies and established spacefaring nations.

This is creating a “space-bloc” dynamic, where neutral countries are increasingly feeling the pressure to align with one camp or the other. The fact that no nation has yet committed as a full national partner to both programs indicates that participation is widely seen as a geopolitical choice, not just a scientific one. For a developing nation, the decision is no longer just about lunar science; it’s about aligning with a specific technological, economic, and political sphere of influence. A decision to join the ILRS might come with associated benefits related to other Chinese-led initiatives, while signing the Artemis Accords aligns a country more closely with the economic and security architecture of the United States and its allies. This dynamic demonstrates that lunar exploration is no longer a separate domain of international relations but has become fully integrated into the great power competition on Earth.

Challenges and Hurdles: Technical, Financial, and Political

Despite its ambitious plans and steady progress, the ILRS project faces a formidable array of challenges that span the technical, financial, and political realms.

The technical hurdles are immense. The lunar environment is one of the most hostile imaginable. Equipment and habitats must be designed to withstand extreme temperature swings, from over 100°C in direct sunlight to below -150°C during the lunar night. Without a protective atmosphere or magnetic field, the surface is constantly bombarded with high-energy cosmic rays and solar radiation, which can damage electronics and pose a serious health risk to humans. Perhaps the most persistent and difficult challenge is the lunar dust, or regolith. This fine, abrasive, and electrostatically charged powder gets into everything, clogging mechanisms, degrading seals, and posing a respiratory hazard. Developing technologies that can reliably overcome these environmental challenges—from robust power generation and closed-loop life support systems to advanced construction techniques and dust mitigation strategies—will require significant innovation.

The financial challenges are equally daunting. Long-term space exploration projects of this scale are incredibly expensive, requiring sustained political will and stable funding over many decades. While China’s state-led model provides a greater degree of funding stability compared to Western programs that are subject to annual political budget battles, the total projected cost of the ILRS has not been made public. Building and maintaining a coalition of partners, many of whom are developing economies with limited national budgets, and securing meaningful financial contributions from them may prove to be a significant long-term challenge.

Finally, the political landscape presents its own set of obstacles. The deepening geopolitical tensions between the West and the Sino-Russian axis have created a difficult environment for broad international cooperation. Russia’s ongoing involvement in the project, particularly its key role in the nuclear reactor development, has effectively deterred potential European partners, including the European Space Agency, from participating in the ILRS. At the same time, U.S. regulations, most notably the Wolf Amendment, which severely restricts bilateral cooperation between NASA and Chinese entities, not only prohibit any direct U.S. involvement but also complicate contributions from third-party countries that rely on U.S. technology in their space hardware. A key political challenge for the ILRS in the coming years will be to attract partners who can bring significant technical and financial capabilities to the table, expanding the coalition beyond its current base and demonstrating its viability as a truly global project.

The Future of the ILRS

Beyond 2035: Expansion and Long-Term Habitation

The long-term vision for the International Lunar Research Station extends far beyond the completion of the initial base in 2035. The plan for the subsequent decade is to develop a comprehensive “expanded model” of the station, with a target completion date between 2045 and 2050. This expanded station is envisioned not as a single outpost, but as a sophisticated lunar network. The architecture would feature a central lunar orbit station acting as a transportation and communications hub, with the south pole station serving as the primary surface base. This would be supplemented by additional robotic exploration nodes established at other strategic locations, including the lunar equator and on the far side of the Moon.

This advanced phase of the project anticipates the establishment of a regular and reliable Earth-Moon transportation system, capable of carrying both cargo and crew. It also relies on the maturation of in-situ construction techniques, allowing for the expansion of the base using structures built from local lunar materials. This would support a more permanent, and potentially larger, human presence on the Moon, transitioning the ILRS from a primarily robotic facility with short-term human visits to a continuously occupied lunar settlement.

The Moon as a Stepping Stone to Mars

From its inception, the ILRS has been explicitly and consistently framed by its proponents as more than just a lunar project. It is positioned as a important proving ground for the technologies, operational experience, and international cooperation models that will be necessary for the next great challenge in human exploration: sending crewed missions to Mars. The development and operation of the expanded ILRS model are designed to lay the technical and logistical foundation for these future expeditions. The Moon provides a relatively close and accessible environment to test the systems that will be needed for a Mars mission, such as long-duration habitats, advanced closed-loop life support, in-situ resource utilization, and surface mobility systems. China has already stated its long-term national goal of sending its first crewed mission to Mars by 2033, and the ILRS is the critical next step on that roadmap.

This framing of the ILRS as a “stepping stone” to Mars is a powerful and long-term strategic narrative. A permanent lunar base is an incredibly expensive and technically difficult undertaking to justify on its scientific merits alone. By consistently positioning it as an essential precursor to the even more ambitious and publicly inspiring goal of reaching Mars, the project gains a compelling, forward-looking purpose. This narrative serves multiple strategic functions. It provides a visionary goal that can help sustain political and public support over the many decades required for its completion. It aligns the ILRS with the ultimate ambitions of many of the world’s space agencies, including NASA’s own “Moon to Mars” architecture. And it allows China and its partners to position themselves as leaders in charting a multi-planetary future for humanity. It transforms the ILRS from an end goal in itself into a critical and indispensable phase of a much larger and more inspiring endeavor.

Summary

The International Lunar Research Station is a technologically ambitious and geopolitically significant project that represents a new paradigm in space exploration. It is a departure from the short-term expeditions of the past, aiming instead to establish a permanent, international, and largely robotic research outpost on the Moon. The project is underpinned by a methodical, phased development plan that will unfold over the next two decades, leveraging the proven capabilities of China’s Chang’e program and the specialized expertise of Russia’s Roscosmos. Its architecture is a complex, distributed system with components on the lunar surface, in orbit, and on the ground, all designed to support a broad and comprehensive set of scientific objectives, from fundamental lunar geology and astronomy to the development of game-changing technologies like in-situ resource utilization and nuclear power.

The ILRS is also a powerful symbol of a shifting global order. It stands as a major alternative to the U.S.-led Artemis program, reflecting a new, multipolar era in space where competition and cooperation are deeply intertwined. The project’s inclusive, multi-tiered partnership model has successfully attracted a growing coalition of nations, primarily from the Global South, offering them an accessible pathway to participate in lunar exploration. As humanity prepares to return to the Moon to stay, the development of the International Lunar Research Station and its interplay with competing initiatives will be a defining feature of 21st-century geopolitics, shaping not only our future on the Moon but also the long journey to Mars and beyond.