China offers to collaborate on lunar missions as deadlines loom.

As deadlines approach for building a permanent colony on the moon’s south pole, China, which wants to become a major space power by 2030, has opened a critical lunar mission to international participation.

China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced Monday at the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan, that it invites nations and international organizations on its uncrewed Chang’e-8 mission to collaborate on “mission-level” projects.

Mission-level programs allow China and its foreign partners to launch and operate spacecraft, perform spacecraft-to-spacecraft “interactions,” and study the moon, according to CNSA’s website. CNSA claimed international partners could “piggyback” on Chang’e-8 and deploy their modules once the spacecraft landed.

By Dec. 31, interested parties must send CNSA a letter of intent. In September 2024, bids will be chosen. In 2026, Chang’e-8 will follow Chang’e-7 in searching the moon’s south pole for resources. The two missions will lay the groundwork for Beijing’s 2030 International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).

China wants to launch an uncrewed Chang’e-6 spacecraft to the moon’s far side in the first half of 2024 to collect soil samples. China wants moonwalkers by 2030. China’s south pole outpost timeframe matches NASA’s more ambitious and sophisticated Artemis mission, which intends to return U.S. humans to the moon by December 2025, barring delays.

Two U.S. astronauts will arrive on the lunar south pole in 2025 on the Artemis 3 mission. The last human lunar landing occurred in 1972 during the Apollo program.

In 2027 and 2029, crewed Artemis 4 and 5 missions are planned. NASA cannot work with China under U.S. law.

The Artemis Accords, a NASA-State Department agreement to set space and lunar behavior standards, were signed by 29 nations in September, including India, which landed a probe near the moon’s south pole in August.

The accord excludes China and Russia. Russia and Venezuela are the only countries participating in China’s lunar station initiative.