RUSSIA could be planning to abandon the International Space Station and build its own with the help of China.

The country's Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, is also weighing up whether it's necessary to have people in orbit and decide whether they could be replaced by robots.

4 Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams during a five hour and 58-minute spacewalk on the International Space Station in 2016

Andrei Ionin, chief analyst of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, told Russian press that "the Russian segment of the ISS may separate from the station after 2024".

He suggested Russia could join forces with China to form a build a rival space station.

The space chief also revealed that officials were in talks over whether to continue to send its cosmonauts to the low orbit satellite when Nasa hands it over to the private sector in 2024.

"Now is the time when one needs to make a decision about the ISS...For the time being, we are discussing different options, although one should have done it a lot earlier.

"The space station of the future must also be an international project. Such projects need to be discussed long in advance.

4 An artist's impression of the International Space Station Credit: getty

4 The International Space Station's robotic arm grabs a Japanese HTV-6 cargo vehicle filled with supplies after being launched in December 9 2016

4 The current crew aboard the International Space Station Andrei Borisenko, Shane Kimbrough, Sergei Ryzhikov, Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson and Oleg Novitsky Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford

"The key question here is not about the size of the station or its location in space - whether it is going to orbit the Earth or the Moon. The key question is about international cooperation. We need to understand who our partners are.

"All other questions are secondary.

"Clearly, Russia and China can build such stations, but this is not a question of technologies or finance. Russia solves secondary questions related to modules and their functions. I believe that Russia and China can be very good partners at this point."

The move would be a a blow to diplomatic efforts in space.

The International System, in recent years, has been seen as a symbol of unity as well as a tool for science.

Its current crew members are made up of four Russians and two Americans.

Brit Major Tim Peake lived on the station between December 2015 and 2016, and is expected to return again.

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