The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has released a video of its concept for a lunar base to be developed across the next couple of decades.
CNSA unveiled the video on Wednesday (April 24) as part of the country’s annual space day celebrations. The project is known as the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) and was jointly announced in 2021 by China and Russia.
China is now leading the moon base initiative and attempting to attract international partners for the endeavor. So far, alongside China, Russia, Venezuela, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, South Africa, Egypt, Thailand and Nicaragua have joined the initiative, according to Space News.
One curious detail of the video is the presence of a retired NASA Space Shuttle appearing to lift off from a launch pad in the background.
Maybe they are planning a multinational base like the iss…
Article now contains a link to a tweet showing a reissued image that has the Shuttle blurred out. Got to wonder if someone got in trouble for putting the Shuttle in there.