Global flight: 40 countries will participate in the space forum in Moscow

Russia is consolidating its status as a leading space power by expanding cooperation with friendly states. On April 9, Moscow will host the Russian Space Forum, which will be attended by delegations from 40 countries, the press service of Roscosmos told Izvestia. The key participants will be China, India, and the UAE. Moscow is actively involved in the new "moon race", developing a joint program with Beijing for the International Scientific Station. According to experts, in the future, this project will turn the Earth's satellite into a full-fledged base for long-range interplanetary flights. At the same time, despite unprecedented geopolitical pressure, the State Duma confirms the continuation of working contacts with the United States through the ISS.

Russian Space Forum

The legendary flight of Yuri Gagarin in April 1961 became the most important milestone in space exploration. Today, this industry is one of the key drivers of scientific and technological development in many large countries, including Russia, and our country is interested in developing cooperation with international partners. The Russian Space Forum, which will be held in Moscow on April 9, is dedicated to this task.

The press service of Roscosmos told Izvestia that representatives of 40 countries will take part in the event. It will be opened by a plenary session, the composition of which reflects Moscow's main external priorities. Among the key speakers are Dmitry Bakanov, head of Roscosmos, Bian Zhigang, Deputy Head of the Chinese National Space Administration, and J. P. Morgan, representative of the Indian Space Research Organization. Asir Pakyaraj and Deputy Director General of the UAE Space Agency Ibrahim Al Qasim. Representatives of Belarus, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Serbia, South Africa, as well as the United Nations will also take part in the event.

Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said that the Russian Space Forum would become the main discussion platform for discussing ways to develop this industry and dialogue on cooperation in space. Dmitry Bakanov, in turn, noted that the forum will focus on international contacts.

"It is planned to create prerequisites for more effective cooperation between the leading world powers and strengthen Russia's role in the global space services market," he said.

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Cooperation with friendly countries

Interestingly, the forum is taking place against the backdrop of NASA's Artemis II mission, the first manned flight on a lunar trajectory in more than half a century. The United States has been building a coalition around its own lunar program for several years now: European countries, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan are already participating in Artemis through the Gateway lunar station project.

Russia is also participating in the "moon race". Its key partner is China. Back in 2021, the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) and Roscosmos agreed to establish an International Scientific Lunar Station (ISS). In early April, Bakanov announced that the Russian Academy of Sciences had approved the concept of the Russian segment of the MNLS. Earlier, Moscow and Beijing signed a memorandum on the creation of an energy system for the plant. Russia and China are coordinating their lunar missions Luna-26 and Chang'e-7. The Chinese side indicated that Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8 should become part of the future lunar research infrastructure.

— The prospects of the project can be described for a long time. The lunar economy may still sound like fiction, but the possibilities of using the Earth satellite as a base for further flights have long been discussed at serious venues," a senior lecturer at St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation (GUAP) told Izvestia Peter Punchenko.

Gravity is weaker on the moon, so launching from there will be much easier. It is possible that the Earth's satellite will be able to become a platform for refueling, assembly and maintenance of vehicles.

"It will be possible to produce fuel from the lunar ice — in fact, we are talking about oxygen—hydrogen rocket engines," Punchenko said.

The second most important partner of the Russian Federation is India. Moscow and New Delhi are developing cooperation in manned programs, satellite navigation and planetary exploration. In addition, the parties agreed to explore the prospects for joint work in the field of creation, production and use of rocket engines. The UAE is also important for Russia. The agreement with Roscosmos covers space policy, personnel training, ground infrastructure support, and data and personnel exchange.

At the same time, cooperation with the countries of the Global South is not limited to large-scale political projects, Punchenko stressed. According to him, Moscow is simultaneously building more applied areas that can be commercialized in the future. As an example, he cited the agreement with Myanmar signed in February 2026.

— It provides not only for the training of a Myanmar cosmonaut, but also for the deployment of a GLONASS station and a warning station about dangerous situations in space. And this is data that can be sold to countries that operate orbital groups," he said.

Projects with the USA and Europe

It is noteworthy that, despite Western sanctions, Moscow is still cooperating with Washington in the space sphere. This is almost the only high-tech area where the two countries have maintained working contacts.

In practice, this can be seen from the work within the International Space Station (ISS). The cross-flight program remains a key element of cooperation. On each ship — the Russian Soyuz or the American Crew Dragon — there is a representative of another country. This is necessary to ensure the operation of different segments of the ISS in case of emergency situations. In February, the crew of Crew-12 went to the station. It includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adeno and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The cross-flight program is valid until 2026. However, it is unclear whether it will be extended.

"It would be inappropriate if NASA commented on the legislation being passed," the press service of the Johnson Space Center told Izvestia, answering a question about the possibility of their prolongation.

Maxim Topilin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, made it clear in a conversation with Izvestia that the topic of a possible extension of cross-country flights remains on the agenda.

— These are the working issues of Roscosmos that are being discussed. There are working contacts, this is normal: space is just the area in which cooperation remains, the joint operation of the International Space Station. But at the same time, as you know, we are building a Russian space station," he said.

According to Topilin, the program of its own orbital station is one of the key tasks facing Roscosmos in the coming years. For Moscow, the current cooperation on the ISS is important primarily as a transitional stage. Bakanov emphasized that the first ROS module should be deployed in 2028. In fact, ROS will be Russia's new permanent base in space — for crew flights, scientific experiments and, in the future, work with foreign partners.

The International Space Station is scheduled to be de-orbited in 2030. According to Pyotr Punchenko, cooperation with the United States in the framework of cross-flights is likely to end after Russia creates its own station, and the Americans will have full-fledged alternatives. Then there will simply be no need for such a format: each side will already operate its own infrastructure.

Relations with the European Space Agency look very different, as they have been curtailed for several years. Back in 2022, the agency announced the termination of cooperation with Roscosmos on ExoMars, as well as on the lunar missions Luna 2025, Luna 2026 and Luna 2027. Later, the Europeans restarted the program without Russia.: The Rosalind Franklin mission is now focused on launching in 2028 in collaboration with NASA.