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Previous chapter: Luna-Resurs
Above: The Lunokhod (lunar rover) vehicle (left) and the Earth return vehicle -- both shown in launch configuration -- would comprise the Luna-Grunt mission.
Since Luna-Glob has always been considered as only a first step in Russian "return to the Moon," developers at NPO Lavochkin conceptualized several follow-on missions during the first decade of the 21st century. Return of soil samples was considered as one of the most immediate goals of the long-term program. Unlike Soviet soil return missions in the 1970s, which were limited to a single and largely random sampling location, the new-generation program was expected to take advantage of robotic rovers. A highly intelligent and mobile "Lunokhod" would have a task of carefully selecting and picking up samples from various locations within its reach. The rover would then load up to one kilogram of samples into the return rocket, which would be delivered to the Moon in a separate mission. As of 2007, the rover mission was expected to head to the Moon as early as 2014, followed by the lander carrying the Earth return vehicle in 2015. Both spacecraft could be launched by the Soyuz-2 rocket with the Fregat upper stage. A later mission scenario, renamed Luna-Resurs-2, called for the launch of a lander with a rover, along with the lunar relay satellite onboard the Zenit rocket with the Fregat-SB upper stage. The design of the lunar relay satellite would be based on the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft bus. The lander with the return rocket would still fly onboard Soyuz-2. Both, the lunar rover and the Earth-return rocket would have a mass of around 400 kilograms and would be delivered to the Moon by the same standard lander, which NPO Lavochkin hoped to develop earlier for the Russian-Indian Luna-Resurs project. After the separation from the Fregat booster stage on its way to the Moon, the lander would use its own propulsion system to enter a circular orbit around the Moon with the altitude of around 100 kilometers. It would then fire its engine again to lower the perigee (lowest point of the orbit) to the altitude of only 18 kilometers above the Moon. From here, the final maneuver would be initiated to descent onto the surface. Initially, for the flight to Earth, the return stage was expected to use a direct ascent trajectory to lift off from the Moon and head back to an atmospheric reentry and landing. However, by 2010, the return trajectory included the injection of the soil-carrying stage into a parking orbit around the Moon and only then the engine firing to head to Earth. The new flight profile intended to facilitate the return of soil samples from the polar areas of the Moon, as well as from its invisible side. (440) In August 2010, the head of Space Research Institute, IKI, Lev Zeleny told radio station Ekho Moskvy that the return of water and ice samples would be the goal of the Russian lunar exploration program during 2010s, following the Luna-Glob and Luna-Resurs missions. Polar regions of the Moon were considered as most probable areas for landing. (440) In addition to its scientific return, the Luna-Grunt mission was intended to develop spacecraft platforms, which would later be adapted in the next phase of the lunar exploration, such as the Lunny Poligon project. Changes in the project By 2012, the rover mission was "divorced" from the Luna-Grunt project, which was now expected to be the fourth Russian spacecraft to head to the Moon in 2019, after a pair of Luna-Glob launches and Luna-Resurs mission. Under this plan, Luna-Grunt would precede the new attempt to return soil samples from Phobos, now re-scheduled for 2020. In turn, the rover mission was postponed until 2021. As of 2012, both projects remained in very preliminary stage of development and completely depended on the progress with their predecessors, which were scheduled to go to the Moon during 2015-2017. If successful, a lunar rover mission would pave the way to the Lunny Poligon project promised as early as 2022. In November 2012, ESA reported that in a broad cooperation agreement on exploration, encompassing the Moon, Mars and Jupiter, Roskosmos had invited ESA to assess possibilities for participation in Lunar Polar Sample Return mission, LPSR, with the launch no earlier than
Known specifications of the Luna-Grunt spacecraft circa 2010:
Next chapter: Lunny Poligon Written by Anatoly Zak; All images: NPO Lavochkin Last update: December 31, 2012 All rights reserved |
MEDIA ARCHIVE All images credit: NPO Lavochkin
One Luna-Grunt flight scenario apparently called for a dual mission of the rover and a relay moon orbiter onboard the Zenit rocket and a subsequent launch of the return rocket to carry soil samples from the Moon to Earth.
Artist depiction of the Lunokhod mission from the Luna-Grunt project descending onto the lunar surface. Click to enlarge.
Artist depiction of the return rocket ascending from the surface of the Moon.
Another depiction of the Russian lunar soil-sample return vehicle, which around 2010 was identified as Luna-Resurs-2.2.
The Luna-Resurs-2 soil-carrying spacecraft as it was envsioned by 2009. At the time, it was expected to fly in 2018 on the Soyuz-2.1b rocket.
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