Chinese and European space agencies may be collaborating to construct a possible moon base.
Hvistendahl explained that in order to explore space peacefully, it will require international cooperation, which explains the team up with the Chinese agency.
“The Chinese have a very ambitious moon programme already in place. Space has changed since the space race of the Sixties. We recognise that to explore space for peaceful purposes, we do international cooperation.”
The proposed “Moon Village” was disclosed by the director general of the ESA, Johann-Dietrich Woerner. According to the Independent, this base would also be a potential international launching pad for future explorations to Mars. Additionally, it also opens the possibility of lunar mining.
Last week, China initiated a mission by launching an unnamed spacecraft to dock with its unoccupied space station. They hope to collect samples from the moon by the end of the year and explore the other side and study mineral samples by next year.
The Sun reported that China’s partnership with Europe comes after the country was excluded from the International Space Station because of U.S. legislation that prohibited such cooperation because of the Chinese space agency’s strong military connections.
