On Monday, the Russian space agency Roscosmos revealed that Russia has created a model of what its own Russian-built space station might look like, The Guardian reports.
It may indicate that Moscow is serious about abandoning the International Space Station ISS and instead start using its own space station.
The model has been given the nickname "Ross" in the Russian media.
Reduce dependency
After the West introduced sanctions against Russia as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia now wants to reduce its dependence on Western countries and instead cooperate with countries such as China and Iran.
According to Yuri Borisov, the new head of Roscosmos, Russia will leave the ISS after 2024.
Not officially confirmed
The American space agency Nasa, on the other hand, wants to keep the ISS in operation until 2030. Nasa says that it has not yet received any official confirmation of Russia's planned withdrawal, but so far assumes that Russia will continue to participate in the ISS until 2028.