China, Russia, and Europe in Lunar Exploration: Scientific Cooperation and International Relations

Over the past decade, lunar exploration has evolved into a major arena for international scientific and technological cooperation. This paper analyzes the roles of China, Russia, and Europe in current Moon exploration efforts and examines how their interactions shape multilateral collaboration.
The study reviews recent and upcoming robotic missions: China’s successful Chang’e program, Russia’s Luna‑25, Luna‑26, and Luna‑27 - the latter originally planned with European cooperation. It also examines the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a crew‑capable project jointly initiated by China and Russia at the 2019 IAF GLEX in St. Petersburg. Beyond technology and science, the analysis incorporates legal, economic, socio‑cultural, historical, and human factors (workforce mobility, scientific schools, public perception). The emerging International Deep Space Exploration Alliance (IDSEA) is introduced, and its relationship with the ILRS is discussed.
The results indicate that China and Russia continue to develop their lunar programs, while Europe is re-evaluating its participation strategies. The paper concludes that lunar exploration serves as a platform for constructive international engagement, where shared scientific goals can foster cooperation across different spacefaring nations. Possible scientific and peaceful cooperation synergies with the Artemis programme and other national, international, and commercial multi‑stakeholder initiatives - in the spirit of the ILEWG Moon Village - are also discussed. Future research should focus on legal and economic frameworks that support sustainable multilateral lunar governance.