Lunar research to cost Russian budget 28 bln rubles - draft federal program
MOSCOW. Aug 20 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) is asking to allocate over 28 billion rubles to launch six spacecraft to the Moon, the draft federal space program for 2016-2025 Roscosmos sent to the government for approval said.
"The total volume of financing to create the space complex to research the Moon, Moon-Globe, amounts to 2.98 billion rubles," the document said.
The draft document foresees launching a landing device in 2019 to practice soft landing technology and to research the lunar surface in circumpolar region. The device will work on the Moon for one year.
Two orbital spacecraft of the Luna-Resource project will be launched to the Moon in 2021 and 2023. They are meant for distance research of the Moon and ensuring communication with landing devices. Landing devices will arrive to the Moon in 2023 and 2025. The draft federal space program for 2016-2025 proposes to allocate 14.63 billion rubles from the Russian budget to launch the twp orbital and two landing spacecraft.
It is planned to send in 2025 to the Moon landing spacecraft equipped with soil collecting device and a rocket to deliver lunar soil samples to Earth. According to the assessment of Roscosmos, the project to deliver lunar soil will cost 11 billion rubles.