NASA Touts ‘Solid’ Ties with Russia as Roscosmos Chief Dismisses US Artemis Project as ‘Political’

As multiple nations have unveiled ambitious plans to take humanity back to the Moon, earlier this month the Trump administration unveiled its so-called ‘Artemis Accords’ principles for Moon exploration, subsequently described by Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin as a “political project” and likened to the US invasion of countries back on Earth.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said on 14 July he was still hoping for support from Russia in implementing the ambitious US Artemis lunar program, reported Reuters.

The American space agency has been in talks about it building an airlock for the Lunar Gateway, a small space station in orbit around the Moon – a key piece of the American “Artemis” program.

Speaking in an interview with the agency Bridenstine emphasized that “the relationship between NASA and Roscosmos is solid” and vowed that international partners would be granted a key role in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s plan to bring humans to the surface of the Moon by 2024 and install a space outpost in lunar orbit.

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The comment by the NASA administrator follows an interview with Rogozin in Russia’s Komsomolskaya Pravda on Monday, where he likened the US lunar project to NATO.

Earlier in May, Rogozin responded to leaked reports of the US administration’s new international pact, the “Artemis Accords”, which would allegedly provide a framework under international law for companies to own the resources they extract from the moon.

The head of Roscosmos branded the suggested American plans of “moon mining” and creating “safety zones” on Earth’s natural satellite as a “political project” and an “invasion method” that sought to “head to the goal” no matter who may be against it, drawing parallels with the US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Apollo 11

Later, on 15 May the Trump administration unveiled the Artemis Accords, containing the “bedrock principles” of its Artemis program, which aims to land two astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2024 and establish a “sustainable human presence on and around the moon by 2028”.

The US said it welcomed agreements with “like-minded” countries to help build a long-term presence on the moon.

Sourse: sputniknews.com