"Due to the fact that the ISS operation is planned to be terminated in 2024, and the Russian segment is still not completed, there are proposals to complete its [ISS] creation in the current configuration, and the [Russian] ordered modules will be used to expand Russian participation in the Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway project," the source said.
The source specified that the proposal concerned a node module with six ports for docking as well as a scientific and energy module that could significantly expand the space on the lunar station.
In September, Moscow and Washington signed an agreement on creation of a new space station dubbed Deep Space Gateway on the orbit of the moon, later its name was changed to the Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway.
According to preliminary accords, Russia could build a segment that would serve as an exit for astronauts going on spacewalks. The start of the LOP-G assembly is set for 2022.
Russia's State Space Corporation Roscosmos is planning to add a total of three modules to the ISS, including a Multipurpose Laboratory Module Nauka, expected in 2019, a hub module Prichal set to arrive in 2020, and Science-Power Module-1.
Source: Sputnik News
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