Belarus is in talks with Russia and China on participation in lunar exploration projects and missions to study other planets. This was announced by chairman of the presidium of the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences Uladzimir Karanik in an interview with TASS at the first Russian Space Forum.
According to him, the talks are currently at the level of discussions and memorandums.
“This is not exactly deep space, of course, but it is still somewhat farther than Earth orbit”, he said.
In addition to lunar projects, possibilities for participating in missions to study other planets are also being considered, according to him.
The head of the National Academy of Sciences noted that a Belarusian-made protective coating is being used in the joint European and Japanese BepiColombo mission to explore Mercury.
“Judging by the fact that the spacecraft is still responding to commands and transmitting information in its eighth year of flight, our protective coating is working”, he stressed.
The joint automated mission of the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, BepiColombo, was launched in October 2018. The arrival of the two research spacecraft in Mercury’s orbit is scheduled for November 2026.
