Russia's space agency Roscosmos has declared a new space race, hoping to join forces with China to explore the moon. However, experts say that China is unlikely to be interested in such a partnership.
Roscosmos's announcement comes after the failure of its Luna-25 lander, which was intended to be the first Russian mission to the moon in nearly 50 years. The lander crashed into the lunar surface after a problem with its orbit.
Despite the setback, Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov said that Russia is committed to lunar exploration. He also said that there is a "potential crewed Russian-Chinese mission" in the future.
However, experts say that China is unlikely to be interested in such a partnership. China has its own ambitious space program, and it is not clear what it would gain from working with Russia.
In addition, China is likely to be wary of working with Russia given the current political tensions between the two countries.
As a result, it seems more likely that Russia will continue to pursue its lunar exploration ambitions alone. However, the failure of Luna-25 shows that Russia has a long way to go before it can catch up to China.