NASA is teaming up with the Russian space agency Roscosmos to build a moon base and further space exploration, according to an announcement made on Wednesday.
The statement from NASA mentions that it is collaborating with Roscosmos as it continues to work on the “deep space gateway” concept, referring to an idea in which a manned spacecraft in orbit around the moon would be used as a launching point for missions both to the lunar surface and to points in space farther away. That cislunar spacecraft is projected to kick off in the 2020s.
“Building a strategic capability for advancing and sustaining human space exploration in the vicinity of the moon will require the best from NASA, interested international partners, and U.S. industry,” the American space agency said. Working internationally “reflects the common vision for human exploration that NASA and Roscosmos share. Both agencies, as well as other International Space Station partners, see the gateway as a strategic component of human space exploration architecture.”
The goal is to use the deep space gateway to increase human presence in space, starting with the area around the moon and then the solar system as a whole. That includes Mars.
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