Russia Could Send Heavy Mining-Capable Rover to Moon After 2030 - Source

Source: Sputnik.

"Lavochkin NPO offers Roscosmos and the Russian Academy of Sciences to launch four automatic spacecraft to the Moon from 2031 to 2035. Thus, the Luna-30 lander will deliver a reusable lunar spacecraft with supplies for manned missions. The Luna-31 lander will bring to the Moon a heavy lunar rover weighing up to 5 tonnes, equipped with the necessary means to develop lunar resources", the source said.

The Luna-32 lander will deliver heavy modules weighing up to 6 tonnes for the construction of the lunar test range, and the launch of the Luna-33 orbiter will provide necessary means of communication and navigation, he added.

In early January, head of Russia's Roscosmos space corporation, Dmitry Rogozin, said that the Luna-25 would be sent to the Moon in 2021, the Luna-26 orbiter in 2023 and the Luna-27 lander in 2024.

The Luna-25 mission will search for ice at the Moon's south pole, and will also test soft landing. This will be the first Russian mission to the Earth's natural satellite after a 40-year hiatus. The last Soviet spacecraft sent to the Moon, the Luna-24, was launched in 1976.

The Luna-26 orbiter will conduct mapping and remote sensing of the Moon. The Luna-27 lander take samples of soil at the south pole of the Moon and study it.

In 2027, the Luna-28 lander is scheduled to take cryogenic soil samples to the Earth from the south pole of the Moon. In 2028, the Luna-29 lander will deliver a rover to the Moon.

According to Roscosmos, the construction of the first Russian lunar base is set to begin in 2034.