Russia and USA collaborate to form a space station in Lunar Orbit
Might be a bit of a shocker for some, but really this time instead of going against each other entailing another Cold War, the super Giants are actually collaborating to form a space station in the moon’s orbit, which will provide a starting point for future deep space exploration.
The idea of a deep space gateway is to provide a place for the astronauts to test systems to send into deep space and it would act as a place giving them extended periods of time in space, yet be within a few days of the planet Earth!
Allowing mankind to stage space flights to Mars and elsewhere in the Solar system, the project would be a remarkable feat in the history of space exploration.
“The partners intend to develop international technical standards which will be used later, in particular to create a space station in lunar orbit,” the Russian space agency said in a statement after the signing of an agreement at a conference in Adelaide. (source: The Telegraph).
Once settled, the lunar base can provide even more functions, like a staging area for longer missions. NAS or Roscosmos could send supplies needed for the long missions in stages and store them at the station. Thereby reducing costs for blasting off heavy weights from the Earth, though only if the reusable rockets become a norm.
Russian space agency, Roscosmos, announced on Wednesday that it working on a NASA-led project to facilitate scientific missions in lunar orbit and on its surface. This project is basically the pioneer for NASA’s greater aim to send humans to Mars by 2030. Furthermore, both the organizations working on it aim to set up international technical standards, which will later be used to create a space station, particularly in the lunar orbit.
Already working on the concept studies for the Lunar base, NASA is pleased to see the growing interest in moving to the lunar space for advancing human space exploration. “Statements such as this one signed with Roscosmos show the gateway concept as an enabler to the kind of exploration architecture that is affordable and sustainable.”said Robert Lightfoot, NASA’s acting administrator at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The project would need aid and help from countries all across the world. In order to get such an ambitious project off the ground the agencies have reached out to Canadian, Japanese and European space agencies, which have already worked with NASA and Roscosmos on International Space Station (ISS).
Even both the super Giants cannot afford to work alone on humongous projects. Even now they both in one way or another utilize each other’s services in various space projects. For Russia cannot on its own send cosmonauts to the surface of moon and build a base there, or a station on Earth to follow ISS. Similarly, NASA has to rely on Russian rockets to fly to ISS.
What adds a bit hurdle to this is the politics, and it’s changing trends. For the former president Bush wanted to see humans return to moon by 2020, whereas Obama insisted on testing the technology necessary for a trip to Mars. And with the new drafted out plans, Trump favors to go flying for the moon. It is hoped that the future holds a positive fortune for this one!
It is evident that both Super Space Giants need to work together, for their aim is similar and in order to achieve it working together is the only option. With this positive ending note, one could only marvel in thoughts what exuberant results await us once this mission comes to its completion.