CHINA and Thailand will cooperate on the exploration and peaceful use of outer space as well as on the International Lunar Research Station, according to two recent memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed in Beijing.
China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation of Thailand signed the two MOUs.
China’s Chang’e-7 lunar exploration mission, to be launched around 2026, will have onboard a Thailand-developed global space weather monitoring device, which is designed to observe cosmic radiation and space weather from the lunar perspective. It will be the first time that a scientific instrument from Thailand has entered deep space from Earth orbit.
China’s Chang’e-8 mission, to be launched around 2028, provides a payload capacity of 200kg for international cooperation, and multiple applications from Thailand for lunar surface operation robots and scientific payloads are currently under selection.
China is implementing the fourth phase of its lunar exploration programme with the main target of building up the basic model of the International Lunar Research Station, according to Guan Feng, director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Centre of CNSA.
The fourth phase includes the Chang’e-4, Chang’e-6, Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8 missions.
China and Thailand will strengthen cooperation in the fields of space exploration, space application and space capacity building, by implementing joint space projects, scientific exchange programmes and personnel training programmes, exchanging data and information, among other plans, according to the MOUs.
Both sides will also carry out research and draft a plan for the operation and application of the International Lunar Research Station. — Xinhua
