Russian program for lunar exploration. Space frontiers: why Russia needs a lunar station On the feasibility of creating a lunar orbital station
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Soviet automatic stations "Luna"
"Luna-1"- the world's first AMS, launched into the lunar region on January 2, 1959. Having passed near the Moon at a distance of 5-6 thousand km from its surface, on January 4, 1959, the AMS left the sphere of gravity and turned into the first artificial planet of the Solar system with parameters: perihelion 146.4 million km and aphelion 197.2 million km. The final mass of the last (3rd) stage of the launch vehicle (LV) with the Luna-1 AMS is 1472 kg. The mass of the Luna-1 container with equipment is 361.3 kg. The AWS housed radio equipment, a telemetry system, a set of instruments and other equipment. The instruments are designed to study the intensity and composition of cosmic rays, the gas component of interplanetary matter, meteor particles, corpuscular radiation from the Sun, and the interplanetary magnetic field. At the last stage of the rocket, equipment was installed to form a sodium cloud - an artificial comet. On January 3, a visually observable golden-orange sodium cloud formed at a distance of 113,000 km from Earth. During the Luna-1 flight, the second escape velocity was achieved for the first time. Strong flows of ionized plasma have been recorded in interplanetary space for the first time. In the world press, the Luna-1 spacecraft received the name "Dream".
"Luna-2" On September 12, 1959, she made the world's first flight to another celestial body. On September 14, 1959, the Luna-2 spacecraft and the last stage of the launch vehicle reached the surface of the Moon (west of the Sea of Serenity, near the craters Aristyllus, Archimedes and Autolycus) and delivered pennants depicting the State Emblem of the USSR. The final mass of the AMS with the last stage of the launch vehicle is 1511 kg, with the mass of the container, as well as scientific and measuring equipment, 390.2 kg. An analysis of the scientific information obtained by Luna-2 showed that the Moon practically does not have its own magnetic field and radiation belt.
Luna-2
"Luna-3" launched on October 4, 1959. The final mass of the last stage of the launch vehicle with the Luna-3 AMS is 1553 kg, with a mass of scientific and measuring equipment with power sources of 435 kg. The equipment included systems: radio engineering, telemetry, photo-television, orientation relative to the Sun and Moon, power supply with solar panels, thermal control, as well as a complex of scientific equipment. Moving along a trajectory around the Moon, the AMS passed at a distance of 6200 km from its surface. On October 7, 1959, the far side of the Moon was photographed from Luna 3. Cameras with long- and short-focus lenses photographed almost half the surface of the lunar ball, one third of which was in the marginal zone of the side visible from the Earth, and two thirds on the invisible side. After processing the film on board, the resulting images were transmitted by a photo-television system to Earth when the station was 40,000 km away from it. The Luna-3 flight was the first experience in studying another celestial body with the transmission of its image from a spacecraft. After flying around the Moon, the AMS moved to an elongated, elliptical orbit of the satellite with an apogee altitude of 480 thousand km. Having completed 11 revolutions in orbit, it entered the earth's atmosphere and ceased to exist.
Luna-3
"Luna-4" - "Luna-8"- AMS launched in 1963-65 for further exploration of the Moon and testing a soft landing of a container with scientific equipment on it. Experimental testing of the entire complex of systems ensuring a soft landing was completed, including celestial orientation systems, control of on-board radio equipment, radio control of the flight path and autonomous control devices. The mass of the AMS after separation from the LV booster stage is 1422-1552 kg.
Luna-4
"Luna-9"- AMS, for the first time in the world, carried out a soft landing on the Moon and transmitted an image of its surface to Earth. Launched on January 31, 1966 by a 4-stage launch vehicle using a satellite reference orbit. The automatic lunar station landed on the Moon on February 3, 1966 in the Ocean of Storms region, west of the Reiner and Mari craters, at a point with coordinates 64° 22" W and 7° 08" N. w. Panoramas of the lunar landscape (at different angles of the Sun above the horizon) were transmitted to Earth. 7 radio communication sessions (lasting more than 8 hours) were conducted to transmit scientific information. The spacecraft operated on the Moon for 75 hours. Luna-9 consists of a spacecraft designed to operate on the lunar surface, a compartment with control equipment and a propulsion system for trajectory correction and braking before landing. The total mass of Luna-9 after insertion into the flight path to the Moon and separation from the booster stage of the launch vehicle is 1583 kg. The mass of the spacecraft after landing on the Moon is 100 kg. Its sealed housing contains: television equipment, radio communication equipment, a software-time device, scientific equipment, a thermal control system, and power supplies. The images of the lunar surface transmitted by Luna 9 and the successful landing were crucial for further flights to the Moon.
Luna-9
"Luna-10"- the first artificial lunar satellite (ISL). Launched on March 31, 1966. The mass of the AMS on the flight path to the Moon is 1582 kg, the mass of the ISL, separated on April 3 after the transition to a selenocentric orbit, is 240 kg. Orbital parameters: peri-population 350 km, apopopulation 1017 km, orbital period 2 hours 58 min 15 sec, inclination of the lunar equator plane 71° 54". Active operation of the equipment for 56 days. During this time, the ISL made 460 orbits around the Moon, 219 radio communication sessions were carried out, information was obtained on the gravitational and magnetic fields of the Moon, the magnetic plume of the Earth, into which the Moon and the ISL fell more than once, as well as indirect data on the chemical composition and radioactivity of surface lunar rocks. during the 23rd Congress of the CPSU For the creation and launch of the Luna-9 and Luna-10 satellites, the International Aeronautical Federation (FAI) awarded Soviet scientists, designers and workers an honorary diploma.
Luna-10
"Luna-11"- second ISL; launched on August 24, 1966. The mass of the AMS is 1640 kg. On August 27, Luna-11 was transferred to a lunar orbit with the following parameters: peri-population 160 km, apopulation 1200 km, inclination 27°, orbital period 2 hours 58 minutes. The ISL made 277 orbits, operating for 38 days. Scientific instruments continued the exploration of the Moon and cislunar space, begun by the Luna-10 ISL. 137 radio communication sessions were conducted.
Luna-11
"Luna-12"- third Soviet ISL; launched on October 22, 1966. Orbital parameters: peri-population about 100 km, apopopulation 1740 km. The mass of the AMS in ISL orbit is 1148 kg. Luna-12 operated actively for 85 days. On board the ISL, in addition to scientific equipment, there was a high-resolution photo-television system (1100 lines); with its help, large-scale images of areas of the lunar surface in the region of Mare Mons, the Aristarchus crater and others were obtained and transmitted to Earth (craters up to 15-20 m in size, and individual objects up to 5 m in size). The station operated until January 19, 1967. 302 radio communication sessions were conducted. On the 602nd orbit, after completing the flight program, radio communication with the station was interrupted.
Luna-12
"Luna-13"- the second spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon. Launched on December 21, 1966. On December 24, it landed in the Ocean of Storms region at a point with selenographic coordinates 62° 03" W and 18° 52" N. w. The mass of the spacecraft after landing on the Moon is 112 kg. Using a mechanical soil meter, a dynamograph and a radiation density meter, data on the physical and mechanical properties of the surface layer of lunar soil were obtained. Gas-discharge counters that registered cosmic corpuscular radiation made it possible to determine the reflectivity of the lunar surface for cosmic rays. 5 large panoramas of the lunar landscape at different heights of the Sun above the horizon were transmitted to Earth.
Luna-13
"Luna-14"- the fourth Soviet ISL. Launched on April 7, 1968. Orbit parameters: peri-population 160 km, apoptination 870 km. The ratio of the masses of the Earth and the Moon was clarified; the gravitational field of the Moon and its shape were studied by systematic long-term observations of changes in orbital parameters; the conditions for the passage and stability of radio signals transmitted from the Earth to the ISL and back were studied at various positions relative to the Moon, in particular when going beyond the lunar disk; cosmic rays and flows of charged particles coming from the Sun were measured. Additional information was obtained to construct an accurate theory of the Moon's motion.
"Luna-15" launched on July 13, 1969, three days before the launch of Apollo 11. The purpose of this station was to take samples of lunar soil. It entered lunar orbit at the same time as Apollo 11. If successful, our station could take soil samples and launch from the Moon for the first time, returning to Earth before the Americans. In the book by Yu.I. Mukhin “Anti-Apollo: the US lunar scam” it says: “although the probability of a collision was much lower than in the sky above Lake Constance, the Americans asked the USSR Academy of Sciences about the orbital parameters of our AMS, They were informed. For some reason, the AWS hung around in orbit for a long time. Then it made a hard landing on the regolith. The Americans won the competition. How? What do these days of circling Luna-15 around the Moon mean: problems that arose on board or... negotiations of some authorities? Did our AMS collapse on its own or did they help it do it?” Only Luna-16 was able to take soil samples.
Luna-15
"Luna-16"- AMS, which made the first Earth-Moon-Earth flight and delivered samples of lunar soil. Launched on September 12, 1970. On September 17, it entered a selenocentric circular orbit with a distance from the lunar surface of 110 km, an inclination of 70°, and an orbital period of 1 hour 59 minutes. Subsequently, the complex problem of forming a pre-landing orbit with low population density was solved. A soft landing was made on September 20, 1970 in the Sea of Plenty area at a point with coordinates 56°18"E and 0°41"S. w. The soil intake device provided drilling and soil sampling. The launch of the Moon-Earth rocket from the Moon was carried out on command from the Earth on September 21, 1970. On September 24, the return vehicle was separated from the instrument compartment and landed in the design area. Luna-16 consists of a landing stage with a soil intake device and a Luna-Earth space rocket with a return vehicle. The mass of the spacecraft when landing on the lunar surface is 1880 kg. The landing stage is an independent multi-purpose rocket unit that has a liquid-propellant rocket engine, a system of tanks with propellant components, instrument compartments and shock-absorbing supports for landing on the lunar surface.
Luna-16
"Luna-17"- AMS, which delivered the first automatic mobile scientific laboratory “Lunokhod-1” to the Moon. Launch of "Luna-17" - November 10, 1970, November 17 - soft landing on the Moon in the region of the Sea of Rains, at a point with coordinates 35° W. long and 38°17" N
When developing and creating the lunar rover, Soviet scientists and designers faced the need to solve a complex of complex problems. It was necessary to create a completely new type of machine, capable of functioning for a long time in unusual conditions of outer space on the surface of another celestial body. Main objectives: creating an optimal propulsion device with high maneuverability with low weight and energy consumption, ensuring reliable operation and traffic safety; remote control systems for the movement of the Lunokhod; ensuring the necessary thermal conditions using a thermal control system that maintains the temperature of the gas in the instrument compartments, structural elements and equipment located inside and outside the sealed compartments (in open space during periods of lunar days and nights) within specified limits; selection of power sources, materials for structural elements; development of lubricants and lubrication systems for vacuum conditions and more.
Scientific equipment HP A. should have ensured the study of topographical and selenium-morphological features of the area; determination of the chemical composition and physical and mechanical properties of the soil; study of the radiation situation on the flight route to the Moon, in the lunar space and on the lunar surface; X-ray cosmic radiation; experiments on laser ranging of the Moon. First L. s. A. - the Soviet "Lunokhod-1" (Fig. 1), intended for carrying out a large complex of scientific research on the surface of the Moon, was delivered to the Moon by the automatic interplanetary station "Luna-17" (see Error! Reference source not found.), worked on it surface from November 17, 1970 to October 4, 1971 and covered 10,540 m. Lunokhod-1 consists of 2 parts: the instrument compartment and the wheeled chassis. The mass of Lunokhod-1 is 756 kg. The sealed instrument compartment has the shape of a truncated cone. Its body is made of magnesium alloys, providing sufficient strength and lightness. The upper part of the compartment body is used as a radiator-cooler in the thermal control system and is closed with a lid. During the moonlit night, the lid covers the radiator and prevents heat from emitting from the compartment. During the lunar day, the lid is open, and the solar battery elements located on its inside recharge the batteries that supply the on-board equipment with electricity.
The instrument compartment houses thermal control systems, power supplies, receiving and transmitting devices of the radio complex, devices of the remote control system and electronic converting devices of scientific equipment. In the front part there are: television camera windows, an electric drive of a movable highly directional antenna, which serves to transmit television images of the lunar surface to Earth; a low-directional antenna that provides reception of radio commands and transmission of telemetric information, scientific instruments and an optical corner reflector made in France. On the left and right sides there are: 2 panoramic telephoto cameras (in each pair, one of the cameras is structurally combined with a local vertical locator), 4 whip antennas for receiving radio commands from the Earth in a different frequency range. An isotope source of thermal energy is used to heat the gas circulating inside the apparatus. Next to it is a device for determining the physical and mechanical properties of lunar soil.
Sharp temperature changes during the change of day and night on the surface of the Moon, as well as a large temperature difference between the parts of the apparatus located in the Sun and in the shade, necessitated the development of a special thermal control system. At low temperatures during the lunar night, to heat the instrument compartment, the circulation of coolant gas through the cooling circuit is automatically stopped and the gas is sent to the heating circuit.
The Lunokhod's power supply system consists of solar and chemical buffer batteries, as well as automatic control devices. The solar battery drive is controlled from the Earth; in this case, the cover can be installed at any angle ranging from zero to 180°, necessary for maximum use of solar energy.
The onboard radio complex ensures the reception of commands from the Control Center and the transmission of information from the vehicle to Earth. A number of radio complex systems are used not only when working on the surface of the Moon, but also during the flight from Earth. Two television systems L.S. A. serve to solve independent problems. The low-frame television system is designed to transmit to Earth television images of the terrain necessary for the crew controlling the movement of the lunar rover from the Earth. The possibility and feasibility of using such a system, which is characterized by a lower image transmission rate compared to the broadcast television standard, was dictated by specific lunar conditions. The main one is the slow change of the landscape as the lunar rover moves. The second television system is used to obtain a panoramic image of the surrounding area and photograph areas of the starry sky, the Sun and the Earth for the purpose of celestial orientation. The system consists of 4 panoramic telephoto cameras.
The self-propelled chassis provides a solution to a fundamentally new problem in astronautics - the movement of an automatic laboratory on the surface of the Moon. It is designed in such a way that the lunar rover has high maneuverability and operates reliably for a long time with minimal dead weight and electricity consumption. The chassis allows the lunar rover to move forward (with 2 speeds) and backward, and to turn in place and while moving. It consists of a chassis, an automation unit, a traffic safety system, a device and a set of sensors for determining the mechanical properties of the soil and assessing the maneuverability of the chassis. Turning is achieved due to different speeds of rotation of the wheels on the right and left sides and changing the direction of their rotation. Braking is carried out by switching the chassis traction motors to electrodynamic braking mode. To hold the lunar rover on slopes and bring it to a complete stop, electromagnetic-controlled disc brakes are activated. The automation unit controls the movement of the lunar rover using radio commands from the Earth, measures and controls the main parameters of the self-propelled chassis and the automatic operation of instruments for studying the mechanical properties of lunar soil. The traffic safety system provides automatic stopping at extreme angles of roll and trim and overload of the wheel electric motors.
A device for determining the mechanical properties of lunar soil allows you to quickly obtain information about ground conditions of movement. The distance traveled is determined by the number of revolutions of the driving wheels. To take into account their slipping, a correction is made, determined using a freely rolling ninth wheel, which is lowered to the ground by a special drive and raised to its original position. The vehicle is controlled from the Deep Space Communications Center by a crew consisting of a commander, driver, navigator, operator, and flight engineer.
The driving mode is selected as a result of an assessment of television information and promptly received telemetric data on the amount of roll, trim of the distance traveled, condition and operating modes of the wheel drives. In conditions of space vacuum, radiation, significant temperature changes and difficult terrain along the route, all systems and scientific instruments of the lunar rover functioned normally, ensuring the implementation of both the main and additional programs of scientific research of the Moon and outer space, as well as engineering and design tests.
Luna-17
"Lunokhod-1" examined in detail the lunar surface over an area of 80,000 m2. For this purpose, more than 200 panoramas and over 20,000 surface images were obtained using television systems. The physical and mechanical properties of the surface layer of soil were studied at more than 500 points along the route, and its chemical composition was analyzed at 25 points. The cessation of active operation of Lunokhod-1 was caused by the depletion of its isotope heat source resources. At the end of the work, it was placed on an almost horizontal platform in a position in which the corner light reflector ensured long-term laser location of it from the Earth.
"Lunokhod-1"
"Luna-18" launched on September 2, 1971. In orbit, the station maneuvered to test methods for automatic lunar navigation and ensure landing on the Moon. Luna 18 completed 54 orbits. 85 radio communication sessions were conducted (checking the operation of systems, measuring movement trajectory parameters). On September 11, the braking propulsion system was turned on, the station left orbit and reached the Moon in the mainland surrounding the Sea of Plenty. The landing area was chosen in a mountainous area of great scientific interest. As measurements have shown, the landing of the station in these difficult topographic conditions turned out to be unfavorable.
"Luna-19"- sixth Soviet ISL; launched on September 28, 1971. On October 3, the station entered a selenocentric circular orbit with the following parameters: altitude above the lunar surface 140 km, inclination 40° 35", orbital period 2 hours 01 minutes 45 seconds. On November 26 and 28 the station was transferred to a new orbit. Conducted systematic long-term observations of the evolution of its orbit in order to obtain the necessary information to clarify the gravitational field of the Moon. The characteristics of the interplanetary magnetic field in the vicinity of the Moon were continuously measured. Photographs of the lunar surface were transmitted to Earth.
"Luna-19"
"Luna-20" launched on February 14, 1972. On February 18, as a result of braking, it was transferred to a circular selenocentric orbit with the following parameters: altitude 100 km, inclination 65°, orbital period 1 hour 58 minutes. On February 21, it made a soft landing on the surface of the Moon for the first time in the mountainous continental region between the Sea of Plenty and the Sea of Crisis, at a point with selenographic coordinates 56° 33" E and 3° 32" N. w. "Luna-20" is similar in design to "Luna-16". The soil sampling mechanism drilled the lunar soil and took samples, which were placed in the container of the return vehicle and sealed. On February 23, a space rocket with a return vehicle was launched from the Moon. On February 25, the Luna-20 return vehicle landed in the estimated area of the USSR territory. Samples of lunar soil, taken for the first time in the inaccessible continental region of the Moon, were delivered to Earth.
"Luna-21" delivered Lunokhod 2 to the lunar surface. The launch took place on January 8, 1973. Luna 21 made a soft landing on the Moon on the eastern edge of the Mare Serenity, inside the Lemonnier crater, at a point with coordinates 30° 27" E and 25° 51" N. w. On January 16, I walked down the ramp from the Luna 21 landing stage. "Lunokhod-2".
"Luna-21"
On January 16, 1973, with the help of the Luna-21 automatic station, Lunokhod-2 was delivered to the area of the eastern edge of the Sea of Serenity (the ancient Lemonier crater). The choice of the specified landing area was dictated by the expediency of obtaining new data from the complex zone of junction of the sea and the continent (and also, according to some researchers, in order to verify the reliability of the fact of the American landing on the Moon). Improving the design of on-board systems, as well as installing additional instruments and expanding the capabilities of the equipment, made it possible to significantly increase maneuverability and carry out a large amount of scientific research. Over 5 lunar days, in difficult terrain conditions, Lunokhod-2 covered a distance of 37 km.
"Lunokhod-2"
"Luna-22" was launched on May 29, 1974 and entered lunar orbit on June 9. Performed the functions of an artificial satellite of the Moon, research of cislunar space (including meteorite conditions).
"Luna-23" was launched on October 28, 1974 and soft-landed on the Moon on November 6. Probably its launch was timed to coincide with the next anniversary of the Great October Revolution. The mission of the station included taking and studying lunar soil, but the landing took place in an area with unfavorable terrain, which is why the soil-collecting device broke down. On November 6-9, the research was carried out according to a shortened program.
"Luna-24" was launched on August 9, 1976 and landed on the Moon on August 18 in the Sea of Crisis area. The mission of the station was to take “marine” lunar soil (despite the fact that “Luna-16” took soil on the border of the sea and the continent, and “Luna-20” - on the mainland area). The take-off module with lunar soil launched from the Moon on August 19, and on August 22 the capsule with the soil reached the Earth.
"Luna-24"
It is no secret that the exploration of the Moon and the creation of a habitable base on it is one of the priorities of Russian cosmonautics. However, to implement such a large-scale project, it is not enough to organize a one-time flight, but it is necessary to build an infrastructure that would allow regular flights to the Moon and from it to Earth. To do this, in addition to creating a new spacecraft and a super-heavy launch vehicle, it is necessary to create bases in space, which are orbital stations. One of them may appear in Earth orbit as early as 2017-2020 and will be developed in subsequent years by increasing modules, including those for launching to the Moon.
It is expected that by 2024 the station will be equipped with power and transformable modules designed to work with lunar missions. However, this is only part of the lunar infrastructure. The next important step is lunar orbital station, the creation of which is included in the Russian space program. Starting from 2020, Roscosmos will consider technical proposals for the station, and in 2025 the draft documentation for its modules should be approved. At the same time, computers and scientific equipment for the lunar orbital station will begin to be developed in 2022, in order to begin ground-based development in 2024. The lunar station should include several modules: an energy module, a laboratory, and a hub for docking spacecraft.
Speaking about the need for such a station in the orbit of the Moon, it should be noted that you can fly from the Moon to Earth only once every 14 days, when their orbital planes coincide. However, circumstances may require an urgent departure, in which case the station will be simply vital. In addition, it will be able to solve a whole range of problems of a different nature, from communications to supply issues. According to a number of experts, the most rational option would be to locate a lunar orbital station at the Lagrange point, located 60,000 km from the Moon. At this point, the gravitational forces of the Earth and the Moon are mutually balanced, and from this place it will be possible to launch to the Moon or Mars with minimal energy costs.
The flight path to the Moon will probably look like this. The launch vehicle launches the spacecraft into orbit, after which it will be received by the Russian space station located in Earth orbit. There it will be prepared for further flight, and if necessary (if the mass of the ship must be increased), the ship will be assembled here from several modules launched in several launches. Having launched, the ship will cover the distance to the Russian lunar orbital station and dock with it, after which it can remain in orbit, and the descent module will fly to the Moon.
The program was compiled by the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences on behalf of Roscosmos in 2014. IKI proposes to use the Moon as a scientific testing ground for large-scale astronomical and geophysical research. It is proposed to create an optical observatory and an automatic radio telescope-interferometer on the Moon, consisting of individual receivers distributed over the surface of the Moon. Despite the fact that the program was not officially published, its main provisions were undoubtedly taken into account when developing the Federal Space Program for 2016-2025.
The program for the study and development of the Moon is divided into stages, united by a common strategic goal and differing in methods of work on the Moon. In total, four stages of work on the Moon have been identified, although the experts themselves talk about three, since the latter is not considered in their program.
First stage: 2016-2028
Until 2028, it is planned to study the Moon with automatic stations and select a site for expanding human presence. It is already known that it will be at the south pole, but the exact location will be chosen only after automatic missions provide all the information about the resources necessary to supply the future base, including energy (sunlight), the presence of ice, etc.
More details about all the spacecraft that are planned to be sent to the Moon at the first stage can be read in the subsections of this page. In addition, before 2025 it is planned to begin preliminary design of a new generation of automatic research stations that will be able to begin studying the Moon in the second half of the next decade and after 2030.
Scientific tasks
- study of the composition of matter and physical processes at the lunar poles- study of the processes of interaction of space plasma with the surface and the properties of the exosphere at the lunar poles
- study of the internal structure of the Moon using global seismometry methods
- research of ultra-high energy cosmic rays
Second stage: 2028-2030
The second stage is transitional. The program developers expect that by this time the country will have a super-heavy class launch vehicle with a payload capacity of about 90 tons (in low Earth orbit). During these years, it is planned to test operations for landing a manned expedition on the Moon. It is planned to fly astronauts into lunar orbit on the new PTK NP spacecraft, cislunar dockings of the spacecraft with fuel modules and a reusable one with a take-off and landing vehicle. The latter will have to several times pick up samples of ice-containing soil from the surface of the Moon, which the astronauts can deliver to Earth. The operations training program also includes refueling the take-off and landing module in lunar orbit.
Third stage: 2030-2040
During this period, a “lunar test site” with the first elements of infrastructure should not be created. Manned flights are envisaged only in the form of short-term visiting expeditions. The purpose of the astronauts will be to maintain equipment, machines and scientific equipment.
Stage four: beyond the planning horizon
After 2040, a permanently inhabited lunar base with elements of an astronomical observatory should be built on the basis of the lunar test site. Base workers will be engaged in Earth monitoring, experiments on the use of lunar resources, and development of new space technology necessary for expeditions into deep space.
Roscosmos is preparing to participate in the project to build a lunar visited station, Deep Space Gateway (DSG), proposed by NASA. The idea is to create a multi-module visited station in a halo orbit several thousand kilometers from the Moon. Such a station should become a new laboratory for studying space effects and a support for further manned research flights to the Moon and Mars.
The project was presented to NASA in March 2017, when the course to the Moon of the new administration of US President Donald Trump became obvious. NASA under Barack Obama abandoned the idea of reaching the Moon and designated the goal of Mars with a transitional stage of visiting a near-Earth asteroid - Asteroid Redirect Mission. Due to the complexity, and most importantly the duration, of the outlined strategy, the approach of the new president is aimed at bringing any significant results closer. First, he launched people to the Moon immediately in the first test flight of the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft in 2019, but technical experts dissuaded him - the risk was high.
It is easier to launch from the Moon to Mars. If you assemble a Martian ship in a lunar halo orbit, gradually bringing in fuel tanks and structural elements, you can save up to a third of the fuel mass for the flight, compared to launching from near-Earth orbit. You can achieve even greater savings if you grab part of the station in the form of a compartment of a Martian ship.
Don't forget the political motive. Today, the main foreign policy enemy of the United States is China. And he is already getting closer to creating his own near-Earth station. Therefore, it is important for the United States to emphasize its continued technological superiority, the lunar station is excellent for this, and here Russia, Europe and Japan are simply helping in this.
What interest does Russia have here?
Despite Russia's political differences with the United States, common sense, backed by economic motives, has prevailed in the Russian space industry. For Roscosmos, cooperation with NASA in the 90s under the Mir program, and in the 2000s under the ISS program, practically ensured the safety and high level of manned astronautics. The ISS project has now been extended until 2024, and after that no one could name a goal that is worthy and at the same time feasible for the budget. Despite the declared lunar ambitions, as soon as money came up when adopting the Federal Space Program for 2015-2025, the first thing that went under the knife was a super-heavy rocket, without which reaching the Moon is extremely difficult. There was hope for a four-launch scheme with the Angara A5B, but we had to forget about it when it became clear that there was no other demand for this rocket, and there would be only one launch pad at Vostochny. Only the developments of the interplanetary spacecraft "Federation" were able to be preserved, but without the "Angara-A5V" it is doomed to near-Earth flights, where the Soyuz-MS, ready for work, now dominates.
Even if we assume that there is money in the budget for a super-heavy rocket, is it worth tearing up the industry for ten years in order to repeat Armstrong’s walk 60 years ago? What then? Stop all work and forget, like the USA did in the 70s?
As a result, until yesterday, Roscosmos was in a stalemate - there was no money and there was no particular point in flying to the Moon, but near the Earth it only makes sense to fly to the ISS, which will soon end. But with entering into a lunar partnership, everything changes.
Firstly, opportunities are again emerging for obtaining orders for the development and operation of equipment for NASA. Secondly, a long-term meaning appears in the super-heavy rocket and interplanetary flights, because we are not just flying for self-affirmation, but we are flying to work to develop technology and advance humanity into deep space, and to a large extent not at our own expense. Thirdly, the industry receives a long-awaited new stimulus for development: the Federation ship, new station modules, life support systems, spacesuits, instruments, lunar satellites, lunar rovers finally make sense... Young teams can finally realize themselves without repeating Soviet schemes , but to bring something of our own at a modern level.
The participation of Roscosmos also helps NASA. The programs that NASA tried to develop alone: Constellation, Asteroid Redirect Mission, turned out to be very vulnerable to changes in internal political course. International partnership imposes mutual obligations and the refusal of a project acquires not only economic, but also political overtones, and here no one wants to lose extra points. This also applies to Russian international programs.
So, despite the predominant participation of the United States in the DSG project, the dependence of the partners here is mutual, which, in fact, is called cooperation in space exploration. This can only be welcomed.
Illustration copyright RIA Novosti Image caption Moon exploration is an attractive topic for politicians, but there is no money in the budget for it yet
A project for a lunar habitable base is being developed in Russia. It is not part of the state program; its preparation is carried out by the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering.
There is little information about the appearance of the lunar station - representatives of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise TsNIIMash told in an interview with several Russian publications that at first it will be designed for two to four people, in the future - for 10-12.
Technical parameters, in particular, the energy source and location have also not yet been finally determined, although it is known that the possibility of placing it at the South Pole of the Moon is being considered.
The idea of building a station on the Moon has been discussed at the government level for a long time, at least Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and other government officials have spoken a lot about this in recent years.
However, what sounds good in the speeches of politicians is quite difficult to implement. There is no money in Russia for such an ambitious project, and experts believe that there is no reason to seriously expect that it will be implemented in the coming decades.
Not to the Moon
It is difficult to say exactly how much the lunar program might cost. As the head of Roscosmos, Igor Komarov, stated when presenting the federal space program, the amount required for such a program could be equal to Russia’s ten-year space budget. The development of the rocket itself alone will cost $10 billion, and its launch alone will cost a billion dollars.
The American Apollo program, which aimed to send astronauts to the Moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s, cost $200 billion in today's dollars. And this is only enough to land 12 people on the surface of the Earth’s satellite - that is, to implement only the first stage of the program for its development.
Roscosmos, which is going through a period of deep reform and which has had great difficulty in the last year optimizing the federal space program under a budget cut by more than half, is skeptical about lunar exploration.
Direct preparations for the flight and landing of a man on the Moon (not even for the construction of a base), with the reduction of the FCP, were moved beyond the program, which is valid until 2025.
Illustration copyright Getty Image caption The American Apollo program cost 200 billion modern dollarsOver the past months, the plan has changed several times, and even the adopted program was subsequently adjusted - first in the part devoted to the development of the Vostochny cosmodrome, where there was no plan for the construction of a launch pad for a super-heavy rocket.
These plans were revised in May. It was announced that at Vostochny they would build a third table for a super-heavy rocket, which, however, will only begin to be created in the next 10 years. It is unknown when this site will be built.
The head of the Space Policy Institute, Ivan Moiseev, in an interview with the BBC Russian Service, said that he considers such decisions to be political. “This goes beyond the horizon of the [FKP] program, and when it comes to implementing such political decisions, it turns out that there is not enough money for this,” he said.
As the head of Roscosmos Igor Komarov previously stated, creating a super-heavy carrier just for the lunar program is too expensive, and there is no commercial load for it in astronautics.
“Under the existing agreements, which I hope will be maintained, on the use of space and arms limitation, there will be no need for loads, including for military purposes,” he said in March.
The whole world
A station on the Moon is not only a reason for loud political statements, it also has practical meaning.
Astronautics around the world is striving to explore the planets of the solar system, with Mars likely to be the first of them.
The moon in such a situation could become a kind of springboard, literally and figuratively. Firstly, it is possible to build a base on it for sending ships to other planets, and secondly, during flights to the Earth’s satellite, it is possible to test technologies for such expeditions.
In addition, scientists say that telescopes can be built on the Moon to study deep space and other scientific programs can be implemented.
The current project of TsNIIMash is far from the first and not the only one. Lunar station project, for example, DLR in Cologne.
Igor Komarov, presenting the federal space program to journalists in March, said that large space projects need to be developed in cooperation with other countries.
Roscosmos and the European Space Agency are already preparing a series of launches of unmanned vehicles that will conduct research in the area of the South Pole of the Moon in order to study the place where, according to experts, .
However, according to Ivan Moiseev, “between an automatic interplanetary station of any type and a base there is a huge distance of decades and many tens of billions of dollars,” and these preparatory flights do not mean that it will come to colonization.
Illustration copyright RIA Novosti Image caption The USSR had extensive experience in building super-heavy rockets, but the lunar N-1 never took off, and the super-lifting capacity of Energia was never useful in the national economyIn company with NASA
As Moiseev believes, today the only country capable of single-handedly implementing the lunar colonization program is the United States, and the issue of Russia’s participation in this program will have to be resolved with the future American president.
According to the expert, this is not only a political issue. “There is a whole complex of issues here, including politics, economics, and technology. It will not work to consider the prospects for only one of these issues,” he believes.
However, as Scott Pace, director of the American Space Policy Institute in Washington, told the BBC in February last year, NASA is now pursuing a space exploration policy relying mainly on its own resources (which, in his opinion, is incorrect).
“When NASA announced that it was going to send a manned expedition to Mars, many foreign space agencies made it clear that they were not able to participate in such a program. In a strategic sense, the United States chose a direction of research that excluded the possibility of international cooperation - the most important resource in the modern world.” , - he said.
Distant future
The task of building a lunar base, according to many experts (), is not as pressing as creating, for example, a large satellite orbital constellation.
But other experts are convinced that large and ambitious goals can be a good incentive for the development of the space industry.
“We have a certain stagnation in the world astronautics associated with development; we have largely stopped at the milestone that humanity reached 40 years ago. From this point of view, pursuing lunar or Martian programs is better than modernizing rockets or space exploration for the hundredth time ships developed in the 60s and 70s. But lunar projects have not yet been justified in any way. The investor in these projects will be the state, and it must understand why and what it is investing in," a corresponding member of the Russian Academy said in an interview with Kommersant cosmonautics Andrei Ionin.
An expert in the field of astronautics, Vadim Lukashevich, in an interview with the BBC, said that it is impossible to prohibit TsNIIMash engineers from dreaming, they will proactively develop similar projects for lunar stations, but it is difficult to expect that they will come to fruition. Such projects, he said, are created “on the table.”
“TsNIIMash must have some developments. So that if in five years the government says that it wants to raise the space program, that it has money, and what interesting things does TsNIIMash have? Then they take it off the shelf - here, here and here,” he says.