Illustration of what the moon base could look like, as seen in an envisioned design for the International Lunar Research Station presented in a partnership guide released by the China National Space Administration. (CNSA/Supplied)

Three more countries have joined South Africa in entering into agreements with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to collaborate on building a lunar research base that is expected to be completed in the next decade or so.

Ethiopia’s Space Science and Geospatial Institute and the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CNSA representatives to identify areas of collaboration on the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project, according to the South China Morning Post.

The Kenyan authority posted about the meeting with Chinese officials earlier this month, and the Chinese deep space exploration laboratory shared the announcement in Mandarin on a Chinese social media platform.