Russian-Europe ExoMars mission to head for Mars in 2018
MOSCOW. Jan 28 (Interfax-AVN) - NPO Lavochkin is in charge of the landing module of the Russian-European ExoMars project, Lavochkin General Director Viktor Khartov said at the 38th Academic Space Exploration Readings.
"We are creating a two-tonne landing module for this mission. It will transport a 3,000-kilogram European rover to the surface of Mars," he said.
The mission starts in 2018, Khartov noted.
As to the Venus mission on which Lavochkin is working, Khartov said, "the Venera-D spacecraft will be launched after 2020". A Proton-M launch vehicle will propel the spacecraft to the skies.
Temperatures are high, approximately 500 degrees Celsius, on the surface of Venus, which means "the spacecraft will have to withstand the planetary surface conditions for about 24 hours," he said.