Bakanov announces work on equipment for joint Russia-China Mars mission

Russia and China are beginning to manufacture instruments and equipment for a joint Mars research mission, Roscosmos director general Dmitry Bakanov said after taking part in a meeting of the countries' prime ministers in St Petersburg.

In a statement distributed by Roscosmos, Bakanov also cited cooperation on the Chang'e-7 lunar mission. He described China as a key Russian partner in space activities.

The countries exchange Earth remote-sensing data and jointly use navigation signals from Russia's GLONASS and China's BeiDou satellite systems, he added.