HELSINKI — Kazakhstan has signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on the China-led Intercontinental Lunar New Satellite (ILRS) and will also explore commercial use of each other’s spaceports.
The agreement was signed on July 3 during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Kazakhstan, which saw the signing of 30 documents between the two countries. The development further strengthens China’s lunar exploration plans.
“The two sides will support exchanges and cooperation between the two countries’ aerospace agencies and enterprises in the peaceful use of space, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation in the lunar and deep space, as well as the receipt and exchange of remote sensing data,” a joint statement released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Among the 30 documents signed was a memorandum of understanding on cooperation as part of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), according to the Interfax news agency.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has not issued its own statement on the incident, as happened when Serbia signed the ILRS.
Notably, China’s Foreign Ministry also said that China and Kazakhstan would “explore the possibility of commercial use of each other’s space launch facilities.”
China is now working to expand launchpad access for emerging commercial launch service providers. The Baikonur Cosmodrome, built by the Soviet Union in Kazakhstan and leased to Russia until 2050, is also home to the Saryshagan test site. Kazakhstan borders China’s western Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
“If Kazakhstan wants a big future in space, it needs to diversify away from Russia,” said Braedyn Bowen, an associate professor of space policy and military uses of space at the University of Leicester. Space News.
President Xi also spoke at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Plus Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan on July 4, saying, “China welcomes all parties to use the Beidou satellite navigation system and participate in the construction of an international lunar research station.”
China’s ILRS Plan
The China-led ILRS envisions building a permanent lunar base in the 2030s. It will be built using a super-large rocket. The ambitious project aims to advance lunar exploration and the utilization of lunar resources. China also aims to send astronauts to the moon by 2030.
The plan runs parallel to NASA’s Artemis program, with which the U.S. has a partnership, but it is a separate program. Both the U.S. and China have engaged in diplomatic efforts to attract nations, and the U.S. has had 42 nations sign the Artemis Accords, which set out principles to guide the exploration and use of space, most recently Armenia in June.
China has also announced the establishment of the International Lunar Research Base Cooperation Organization (ILRSCO), which will coordinate and manage the construction of the ILRS lunar base.
In late May, China signed an agreement with Bahrain on lunar and deep space exploration. It does not explicitly mention the ILRS. However, China will work with Egypt to jointly develop a hyperspectral imaging device for the lunar material identification payload of China’s ILRS predecessor mission, Chang’e-7. Notably, Bahrain signed the Artemis Accords in 2022.
Peru, another signatory to the Artemis Accords, is involved in the ILRS through its participation in the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Beijing, which has signed a memorandum of understanding on the ILRS.
A Russian space official said in April that Turkey had applied to join the ILRS. China, which leads the lunar program’s diplomatic efforts, has yet to make an official comment on the matter.
According to local reports in June, China’s Laboratory of Deep Space Exploration (DSEL), an agency under the CNSA, had signed an ILRS agreement with Sri Lanka’s Supreme Deep Space (Pvt) Ltd.
Kazakhstan will become the 12th country to join the ILRS, following Serbia in May, Nicaragua and Thailand in April. The list does not include Turkey.
China and Russia formally announced the joint ILRS project in St. Petersburg, Russia, in June 2021. Venezuela, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, South Africa and Egypt have signed up during 2023. China plans to launch a predecessor mission to the ILRS in the 2020s.
These include an in-situ resource utilization technology test mission by Chang’e-7 around 2026, followed by Chang’e-8. Both multi-spacecraft missions will target the lunar south pole.
| LRS Signer | type |
|---|---|
| China | Country |
| Russia | Country |
| Belarus | Country |
| Pakistan | Country |
| Azerbaijan | Country |
| Venezuela | Country |
| South Africa | Country |
| Egypt | Country |
| Nicaragua | Country |
| Thailand | Country |
| Serbia | Country |
| Kazakhstan | Country |
| Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) | Intergovernmental Organizations |
| nanoSPACE AG (Switzerland) | Hard |
| International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA, Hawaii) | Organization |
| National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) | Research Institute |
| University of Sharjah (UAE) | University |
| Adriatic Aerospace Association (A3) (Croatia) | Organization |
| Astronomical Society of Colombia (ASASAC) | Organization |
| Arabaev Kyrgyz National University (Kyrgyzstan) | University |
| PT Universal Satellite Indonesia (UniSat) | Hard |
| Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences | Organization |
| Deep Space (Sri Lanka) | Hard |
