China and Russia sign Planetary Pact for a joint lunar space station
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Moscow, Mar 10: China and Russia have signed a planetary pact on Mar 9, whereby the plan for a joint lunar space station was unveiled. The pact was signed between the countries because Russia seeks to regain the glory of space pioneering which was prevalent in the Soviet times while China has geared up its own extra-terrestrial ambitions.
Russia was once counted among the top countries of space travel and has a record of sending the first man into space. But, the cosmic ambitions of Russia dimmed the glory because of poor financing and corruption. The glory of Russian space missions has been captured by China and the United States lately, with India standing third in line. China as well as the US have achieved major success in space exploration and research.
The Russian space agency Roscosmos has stated that, it had signed a pact with the National Space Administration (CNSA) of China with the objective of developing a complex of experimental research facilities which have been created on either surface or in the orbit of Moon. Under the collaboration, Russia’s first modern lunar lander called 'Luna 25' has been scheduled to launch on Oct 1, 2021.
Russia will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of its first-ever manned space flight. The country had sent Yuri Gagarin into space in April 1961. Russia's previous manned space missions have been success stories for the entire humanity. In 1963, it again sent the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, into space. The United States also launched its first manned space flight following Russia in May 1961. Russia sent Alan Shepard into space on the Mercury-Redstone 3 flight.