Mr. Rogozin said he and Jim Bridenstine, the NASA administrator, had agreed not to speculate on the causes or the political implications of the matter until the investigation is completed. Whether the hole affects talks on future space cooperation, Mr. Rogozin said, “depends on the result of the investigation.”

The mystery of the hole notwithstanding, it is unclear how much longer the post-Soviet era of space cooperation between the United States and Russia can last in the more hostile environment now surrounding relations.

In the interview, Mr. Rogozin said Russia wanted to carry on joint flights with the United States and its allies, despite the tensions over election interference, wars in Syria and Ukraine, and the chemical weapons poisoning of a former double agent in Britain.

The American and Russian piloted space programs should remain merged, he said, as a symbol of coexistence and the peaceful pursuit of science. He also argued that it would be a mistake to leave the Russians out of any risky venture in space.

Russian hardware would provide a safety net if something went wrong near the moon, he said, just as Russian rockets were able to supply the International Space Station after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, which grounded the shuttle program for more than two years.

“Even if Americans make their own lunar transport system, there should always be a reserve, for the safety of the crew,” he said. “That reserve can exist only if a partner — and now only Russia can do this, and nobody else — has another, alternative transport system capable of saving the astronauts in case of a very problematic situation.”

Analysts say Moscow has a strong incentive to maintain the joint program: a decided lack of money to pursue a lunar station on its own. Russia’s budget for its space program is something less than one-tenth what the United States spends on NASA.