China reveals plans for joint Moon research with Russia
China and Russia are exploring opportunities for the joint exploration of the Moon in 2023 as part of the Russian Luna 26 probe and the Chinese Chang'e 7 mission, Yu Guobin, the vice director of the Chinese space agency's Lunar and Space Exploration Engineering Center, told Sputnik on Saturday.
"The Russian orbiter Luna 26 will observe Earth's natural satellite from the orbit. The time period of the Luna 26 launch almost coincides with the planned launch of our Chang'e 7 probe so we will be able to simultaneously carry out observations and share data ... Teams of specialists of the two countries are currently engaged in thorough discussions concerning specific details [of the cooperation project]," Yu said.
When asked about the time frame of the Chang'e 7mission, Yu noted that the flight was planned for 2023.
Russian space agency Roscosmos has said that the launch of the Luna 26 probe was scheduled for 2023.