Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
China revealed its plan to develop a moon base at the lunar south pole, split into two distinct phases. The first phase aims for completion by 2035, followed by an extended model by 2050.
The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project, initially announced in 2021 by China and Russia, outlined a plan for a robotic moon base through five rocket launches from 2030 to 2035.
China has now taken a leadership role in the project, presenting the updated plans at the International Deep Space Exploration Conference in Anhui on September 5, 2024.
The first phase focuses on constructing a basic moon base near the lunar south pole by 2035, marking the foundation of future lunar exploration missions.
By 2050, the extended phase will create a comprehensive lunar station network, with a lunar orbit station as the hub and the south pole as the primary base. It will also include nodes at the lunar equator and far side of the moon.
The ILRS will be powered by solar energy, radioisotope generators, and nuclear energy. The base will also feature communication networks and various lunar vehicles, including hoppers, rovers, and pressurized crewed vehicles. China continues to seek international partners for the ILRS, with Senegal becoming the 13th country to join the project at the conference.
The extended ILRS model is expected to serve as a foundation for future crewed missions to Mars, according to Wu Yanhua, chief designer of China's deep space exploration project.
While China leads the ILRS, NASA is spearheading the Artemis program, a separate initiative to return humans to the moon. Both programs aim to send astronauts to the lunar surface by the end of the decade.