Jim Green, director of NASA‘s planetary science division, has said that the space agency is in talks with Russian officials about potential cooperation on Russia’s future lunar missions, Space News reported Friday.
Russia aims to launch a series of missions to the moon from 2019 through 2024, including the Luna-25 lander, Luna-26 orbiter, Luna-27 sample return mission and the Luna-28 exploration project.
Green did not disclose the details of the possible cooperation, but it could likely involve the integration of NASA-funded scientists or instruments on the missions, the report noted.
NASA plans to host a conference in January at the Ames Research Center in California to discuss science priorities for future moon lander missions.
Green noted he anticipates European, Russian and other international officials to attend the conference.
