Russia removed from Lunar Gateway project
Russia has been removed from the expert which is developing the near-moon station the Lunar Gateway, headed by the space agency NASA, reported RIA Novosti, citing a source in the Russian space industry.
The decision to remove Russian representatives from the expert group of the Gateway project was taken after repeated statements by the Russian side about Russia’s insufficient role in it.
"Russian representatives are removed from the discussions on this topic, removed from email correspondence, access to materials," the source said.
Russian Space Agency Roscosmos and NASA entered into an agreement to jointly plan the construction of the moon-orbiting space station at the end of September 2017.
As part of the agreement, Roscosmos pledged to create one module of the station, an airlock for spacewalks. The main contribution to the project was made by the United States. The participants’ roles are determined based on their contribution.
However, the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin said that the Russian side is ready to participate in the project only if it is based on the principles of equality, similar to the International Space Station.
"Participation in other international space projects is possible only on an equal basis and with Roscosmos' understanding of the benefits of such cooperation," Roscosmos said at the time.
Roscosmos' press service confirmed to Interfax that the Russian side has decided to withdraw from the project, but it is ready to continue the dialogue with its American counterparts.
In November 2019, Roscosmos announced that Russia would not be in a hurry to implement its lunar programs.