The main phases of the Russian moon program

Forty-five years after its last lunar mission, Russia is preparing for a big return to the moon with a series of many missions that will follow each other in the coming years. Note that the European Space Agency will participate in these upcoming missions Robotic from Russia. From Luna 27 – Nick name Luna-Resurs – which will land on the moon in Antarctica at Luna-28 – to retrieve samples – not to mention Luna-25 / Luna-Glob, the European Space Agency is expected to provide the equipment derived from the program ExoMars (ExoMars 2016 et ExoMars 2022).

This new generation’s first mission to reach the moon will be Luna-25, also known by its former name Luna-Glob. This will be launched AutumnMaybe in October. It will land at the South Pole with the main goal of studying subsurface ice: the latest radar observations have located layers of water ice in the Earth’s interior, only less than 50 cm from the surface. Or less than 1.5 meters. Therefore, this mission is of great importance because many countries and space agencies plan to permanently settle on the moon and intend to use this water ice for many uses, such as supplying electricity.airWater and fuel.

It will follow the Luna-26, which should be launched in 2023. It is an orbit that aims to identify very high-resolution potential landing sites such as those that could be used to build a base, and to accommodate stations. For advanced or return samples. Missions. Luna-26 will also be used to study the moon’s magnetic and gravitational aberrations.

Digging to a depth of 2 meters

In 2025, with Luna 27 (Luna-Resources), Russia will return to Earth in Antarctica at a site that could accommodate a manned base. This mission is definitely the most ambitious one in the entire series. It is also the participation in which the participation of the European Space Agency is the strongest. In fact, it will save the potential customer (On-site resource monitoring and prospecting platform for exploration, commercialization and transportation). This equipment consists of a drill designed to extract samples from lunar soil to a depth of approximately one meter, and various instruments for their analysis, including a spectrometer. The drilling machine The used rover is derived from the ExoMars 2022 rover and will be produced by Leonardo.

Obviously, the goal of these wells is to detect the presence of water ice and determine to what extent this water can be used and adapted to the needs of future lunar explorers to create a permanent base on the moon. It will also save an Pilot landing system Able to land precisely independence completion. This vehicle, developed by Airbus, uses navigation technology, as well as the detection and avoidance of dangerous situations, to provide the Luna-27, during the last minutes of its landing, with the information needed to land on the moon.

The following missions, Luna-28 and Luna-29 do not have a launch date yet. Luna-28 is important Moon sample return From Antarctica that will contain water ice and moderately volatile elements such as copper, Sodium, Potassium Or the Zinc. This water and these volatiles are the largest number of potential resources, and they are necessary for the independence needed for human presence on the moon, a key stage in preparing for future human missions on Mars, and then expanding into deep space.

Finally, at the end of ten years, Russia can send a mobile vehicle (Luna-29). However, so far, no official information related to this mission has been reported.