Roscosmos plans to build a ground-based prototype of the lunar base in 2018-2020

Today, some details of Russia's plans for the development of the moon became known. Earlier, the news was published on Habr that Roscosmos plans to create an orbiting lunar station (on the far side of the moon) from the ISS Scientific and Energy Module , after the module is completed and its corresponding modernization is completed.

Now in the draft Federal Space Program (FKP) for 2016-2025. such points as the creation of elements of the lunar base and special equipment that may be needed for the construction of such a base also fell.

Such a direction as “Manned Flights” includes a project to create a ground-based developmental complex, a prototype of the lunar base of the 1st stage. This prototype will consist of residential, laboratory, energy and node modernized modules. A prototype is needed to test the overall health of the system.

In addition, special equipment will be created to create such a base, including a mobile crane, grader, excavator, cable layer and a mobile robot for landscape selenological exploration.

The total amount that is planned to be allocated for all the work on creating the lunar base is 10.37 billion rubles. The duration of the project is 2018-2025.

Some scientists were skeptical of the Roskosmos project. “Over the past 20 years, Roskosmos officials have learned to brilliantly write various papers and concepts that look quite logical, but have nothing to do with reality. And this property subsequently allows you to completely calmly adjust the terms, amounts, transfer everything to a later date, etc. It is first necessary to determine the industry-wide concept. Right now there is a reform of the space rocket industry. Is it carried out under the lunar program? Nobody talks about this ... We still don’t know what our space strategy is, and without this, designing lunar tractors makes no sense, ”said Andrei Ionin, Corresponding Member of the Russian Tsiolkovsky Academy of Cosmonautics.

Viktor Khartov, General Director of the NGO named after Lavochkina, ”in turn, left such a comment:“ For decades we have not dealt with such things as robots of all types, mobile tools for exploring other planets. Therefore, you need to catch up as soon as possible and more intensively. But for these costs to produce results, a dedicated moon exploration program is needed. Now projects related to the Moon are scattered in different sections: here are some projects on automotive complexes, there are manned topics, and here is the creation of technology. I believe that all this should be interconnected, lunar projects should be put together in one program, under which it is already necessary to finance technologies in order to go through the first phase of the lunar program, and then the subsequent ones, up to the development and colonization of the moon. ”

Of course, the draft of the lunar program may still be modified, but, probably, the main provisions will remain untouched.

Via izvestia