NASA and Roscosmos Are Planning to Extend Operation Aboard the ISS Until 2030

Launched in 1998, the International Space Station has recently been a subject of debate on whether to terminate its operation in space.

Bill Nelson, head of NASA, said before that the US President Joe Biden committed to extending the country’s cooperation aboard the ISS through 2030. Following the announcement, Dmitry Rogozin, the CEO of the Russian space agency Roscosmos said they were in talks with NASA concerning a possible extension of operation on the space station until 2030, TASS reported.

Due to recent leak problems on the space station, Russia has expressed its reluctance to continue its cooperation there before. A statement made from Moscow cleared, “They [partners] should be fairly notified about the withdrawal from the ISS since 2025.”

Partnership for the International Space Station

But now it seems that Russia will continue the partnership with NASA for a few more years. “The talks with NASA on extending the operation of the ISS until 2030 are underway,” announced Rogozin, who also said, “The US sent an official notification relating to the extension of using ISS until 2030 on December 31.”

The ISS is for sure a masterpiece of complex engineering and human invention, and that’s why the European Space Agency (ESA), Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency, NASA, and Roscosmos are the partners of the space station to reduce high cost.

According to the report by TASS, Roscosmos and NASA “reached an agreement on the engineering support for the Zarya module until 2024 carried out by Russia.” That module was funded by the US and built by Russia.

ESA

A lunar space station will be built

Meanwhile, China and Russia are planning to build a lunar space station, which is considered a rival NASA’s Gateway, an envisioned outpost that would orbit the Moon. As a vital piece of the Artemis program, the Gateway would provide crucial support for manned missions to return to the lunar surface.

“With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon,” according to NASA. The ultimate destination is Mars, with gains on and around Earth’s only natural satellite.

What kind of end awaits the space station is unknown. Just wait and see. If you want to know how the International Space Station was built, you can watch the video embedded just below.