Russia, China sign deal to jointly explore Mars, Phobos

The Russian and Chinese space agencies signed a deal in Moscow Wednesday on joint exploration of Mars and its satellite Phobos.

MOSCOW, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian and Chinese space agencies signed a deal in Moscow Wednesday on joint exploration of Mars and its satellite Phobos.

The deal between Russia's Federal Space Agency and Chinese National Space Administration is a follow-up of a general agreement for Sino-Russian space cooperation signed in August 2006.

China is expected to contribute several critical parts for the Russian Fobos-Grunt rover, which is currently under construction.