Russia delays missions to Moon, Venus - Russian Academy of Sciences head

MOSCOW. Aug 22 (Interfax) - Russia will send the next mission to the Moon in 2028, when the Luna 26 spacecraft will be put into a lunar orbit, while a research mission to Venus has been postponed until 2036, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) President Gennady Krasnikov said.

"Currently, it is planned to launch the Luna 26 orbiter in 2028. Its primary objective is to find the best sites for landing," Krasnikov said in an interview published by the newspaper Izvestia on Friday.

The next two Luna 27 spacecraft will be sent to the Moon's North and South Poles in 2029 and 2030, he said.

"The Luna 28 mission is scheduled three to four years later to deliver lunar soil samples to the Earth. The Luna 29 orbiter will be launched, as well," Krasnikov said.

"Luna 30 with heavy rover will be sent to the Moon in 2035-2036 on a long research mission," he said.

A mission to Venus has also been rescheduled, Krasnikov said. "Consistent with the plan, the new Russian automatic interplanetary spacecraft, Venera-D, will be launched in 2036," Krasnikov said.

On December 26, 2023, former Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said the Luna 26 mission was scheduled for 2027, to be followed by Luna 26 in 2028 and Luna 28 either in 2030 or later.

On August 11, 2025, scientific director of the RAS Space Research Institute and the first stage of Russia's lunar program, RAS member Lev Zelyony told Interfax that the Luna 27A launch had been moved from 2028 to 2029, and Luna 27B was due to be launched in 2030.

On April 29, Roscosmos head Dmitry Bakanov said that Russia was planning to launch six automatic spacecraft to the Moon, including two Luna 27 spacecraft.

On March 19, Zelyony said the launch of the Russia spacecraft to Venus might be postponed until 2034-2035. It was earlier scheduled for 2031, he said.