Last Updated on April 20, 2021 by admin
Russia discussed a national plan to launch missions to the moon and Mars at a working meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin, Rossia-1 channel reported on April 18.
In order to implement these plans, Russia is developing a spacecraft propelled by nuclear power, according to the report. The project has been started since 2010, and some of the technologies have made breakthroughs. The nuclear propulsion thruster is expected to be completed by 2024 with an investment of 4.2 billion rubles. In addition to missions to the moon, the propeller is also planned for missions to Venus and Jupiter.

Russia will also launch a lunar probe called Luna-25 in 2021, the last time it sent a lunar probe was in 1976 when the Soviet Union launched Luna-24. The Luna 25 probe is scheduled to launch from the Oriental Space Launch Station on October 1, 2021, and is expected to land on the lunar surface 10 days later. The probe will firstly research the composition of lunar soil and the lunar surface atmosphere in the southern hemisphere of the moon. Russia will also launch the Luna-26 lunar probe in 2024, the Luna-27 lunar probe in 2025, and a manned mission to the moon in 2030.
In addition, Russia will launch the ExoMars-2022 Mars probe from the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch station with Europe at the end of September 2022. The mission, with a European-built flight module and a Russian-built landing module, is expected to land on the Martian surface in 2023.