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For almost two decades, the US and Russia have cooperated on the planning and construction of one of the greatest undertaking of mankind: the International Space Station.

But that could all be set to change as Russia is apparently going to withdraw from the project sooner than expected and build its own space station.

The new orbiting laboratory would be run by Russia alone, and it might be used as a precursor to missions to the moon.

Russia is apparently preparing to leave the ISS (shown) sooner than expected. Nasa had hoped to keep the space station running until 2024. But Russia may decide to get started on a new station sooner. Deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin said he was 'really doubtful' it could continue its involvement beyond 2020

The development, reported by The Moscow Times, suggests Russia will not prolong its participation in the ISS beyond 2020.

Nasa, meanwhile, had been hoping to keep it running until 2024, and possibly as late as 2028.

Beyond that, it's thought the hardware will be too old to continue safe operation in space.

'We are looking into various options, while building an orbital station as a substitute for ISS is one of them,' deputy chief of Roscmos Denis Lyskov said earlier this week according to Space Daily.

Russia wanting to build a new space station is not entirely new; the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, has previously stated their desire to build their own, beyond the ISS.

This has a provisional name of Opsek (Orbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment Complex), and it may be used as a docking port for spacecraft on missions to more distant locations, such as the moon.

However, the timing of it is a surprise; most had hoped Russia would continue their involvement with the ISS beyond 2020.

Whether they will actually follow through with their plans, though, remains to be seen.

'How can they suddenly plan a new space station? It's impossible,' Russian space industry analyst Pavel Luzin told The Moscow Times.

But, a source at the Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIIMash) - Roscosmos' think tank - apparently told Russian daily newspaper Kommersant the plans were very much on the table.

They said construction of the new station would begin as early as 2017, although this was later denied by Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin.

'There are rumours about Russia leaving the ISS project. We will not, the program is set to run until 2020 and we will stick to our international obligations,' he said.

'As for prolonging it till 2024 - that's what we're really doubtful of.'

Russia's deputy prime minster Dmitry Rogozin, pictured, said: 'There are rumours about Russia leaving the ISS project. We will not, the program is set to run until 2020 and we will stick to our international obligations. As for prolonging it till 2024 - that's what we're really doubtful of'

Roscosmos has previously stated its desire to build its own space station beyond the ISS. This has a provisional name of Opsek (Orbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment Complex), illustration shown, and it may be used as a docking port for spacecraft on missions to more distant locations like the moon

It's unlikely the new station would take as long to build as the ISS, as Russia would be able to repurpose many of the modules currently in space.

When the ISS was constructed, it was built module-by-module, beginning with the Russian-built Zarya module in 1998.

To construct the station, other modules were then taken to space one-by-one.

For the US modules, they were launched inside the Space Shuttle and then attached to the station in orbit by the spacecraft.

But the Russian modules flew to the station of their own accord, which means they have their own propulsion systems, whereas the American modules do not.

This means Russia is able to move its modules to a new location and build a new space station, but with the Space Shuttle no longer flying, there is little Nasa can do with theirs.

The ISS has been continuously manned since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000. Pictured from left to right are Yuri P. Gidzenko, William M. Shepherd and Sergei K. Krikalev. The end of the ISS project will bring to an end two decades of human occupation in space

Russia has also been preparing to fly its new heavy-lift rocket, Angara 5 (shown), which may be used to take components for the new station into orbit. Weighing 773 metric tonnes (852 tonnes), this rocket is the most powerful Russian rocket to be built since Energia in the late 1980s

'The Russian segment can exist independently from the American one. The US one cannot,' Mr Rogozin said earlier this year.

'After 2020, we would like to divert these funds [used for ISS] to more promising space projects.'

Nasa is not against Russia building a new space station; the agency has previously confirmed it will deorbit its own modules at the end of the station's life.

But the timing of when Russia plans to leave the ISS project, if confirmed, will be somewhat of a disappointment.

Russia has apparently increased the budget for its space station operations from £2.8 billion ($4.3 billion) from 2001 to 2012, to £4.4 billion ($6.8 billion) from 2016 to 2025.

Some have suggested this is in anticipation of the increased spending that will be needed to construct a new station.

And the country has also looked into the development of new experimental components, such as inflatable modules. 

Ultimately, the agency could decide as soon as December whether to prolong its involvement with the ISS beyond 2020.