China invites Venezuela to join moon base project
Venezuela would be first country to join ILRS moon station
https://spacenews.com/china-invites-venezuela-to-join-moon-base-project/
Excerpt:
China has invited Venezuela to join its lunar research station project as the country works to gain partners for the endeavor.
Venezuela would be the first country to join China and Russia in the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), which is planned to be constructed in the early 2030s using super heavy-lift launch vehicles. The launches will follow smaller, precursor missions later this decade.
Venezuela was willing to sign a China-Venezuela Memorandum of Understanding as soon as possible to jointly promote the construction of international lunar research stations,.....
.....China and Russia presented a roadmap for the joint ILRS in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2021 and opened the project to interested parties.
The pair, led by China, are seeking to build partnerships parallel to the NASA-led Artemis Program. So far 23 countries have signed up to the United States’ Artemis Accords, the diplomatic underpinning of the Artemis project.
“On one hand, it doesn’t surprise me as China and Venezuela have years of cooperating in space,” Victoria Samson, Washington Office director at the Secure World Foundation, told SpaceNews. Samson notes that China has built and launched Venezuela’s handful of satellites in recent years.
“Given the discrepancy in the two countries’ space capabilities, I think that Venezuela’s participation in the ILRS is largely symbolic,” says Samson, who also notes that there are questions regarding what real contributions Russia will be able to make.
.....Wu stated hopes of participation of BRICS countries and Latin American countries in the project. Brazil is a signatory to the Artemis Accords.
.....China faces apparent challenges in attracting partners....
Reports also indicate that an MOU between China and the United Arab Emirates to fly a small rover on China’s Chang’e-7 lunar south pole landing mission was scuppered by complications arising due to ITAR export regulations. That mission is expected to fly in 2026.
.....The Long March 9 project has recently changed to incorporate reusability into the design, potentially delaying the debut launch. The newly-designated Long March 10 is expected to have its test launch in 2027. A pair of Long March 10 launches will be capable of putting a pair of astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade, according to officials.
.