The return capsule of China's Chang'e-5 probe lands in Siziwang Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Dec. 17, 2020.(Photo: Xinhua)

In the latest show of the determination and confidence of China-Russia cooperation in the field of lunar and deeper-space exploration, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and its Russian counterpart jointly released the International Lunar Research Station Roadmap (V1.0) and Guide for Partnership (V1.0), stressing once again their openness to all interested countries, international organizations and partners to join the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project, Global Times learned from the China National Space Agency (CNSA) on Wednesday. 

Such a Roadmap and Guide for Partnership were released during the Global Network Forum: Roadmap For The Creation of The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a session organized by the CNSA and its Russian counterpart the State Space Corporation (ROSCOSMOS) on the occasion of the 2021 Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2021) on Wednesday. 

It also came on the day Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden shook hands during their summit at the Villa la Grange in Geneva on Wednesday.

The document released by the CNSA and the ROSCOSMOS discussed the definition, scientific objectives, implementation approaches, cooperation domains and cooperation opportunity proposals of ILRS to all interested countries, international organizations and international partners in the phases of the planning, demonstration, design, development, implementation, operation and scientific research of the ILRS project, CNSA told the Global Times in a statement on Wednesday. 

China and Russia welcome international partners to participate in all above phases and all-hierarchy levels of each phase, the agency added.

The two sides had clarified the facility is open to all international partners interested in cooperation in a joint declaration released on China's National Space Day on April 24.

The ILRS is a complex set of experimental research facilities created on the surface and/or in the orbit of the moon with possible involvement with other countries and international organizations and partners. 

It is designed to carry out multidisciplinary and multipurpose research activities, including the exploration and use of the moon, lunar observations, fundamental research experiments and technology verification with the possibility of long-term unmanned operation with the prospect of ensuring human presence.

With the progress of ILRS, China and Russia will release updated versions of the Roadmap and Guide for Partnership to define the milestones of ILRS in each stage, and release the procedures for the participation of partners in due course to ensure a steady progress of the overall ILRS project, CNSA said.