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LUNAR PROBES: The overview of the Russian unmanned missions toward the Moon:
*In the second column the table gives the name of the spacecraft as they were identified in the classified paperwork by their development centers, while the third column shows the name announced in the Soviet press. The missions which did not reach the orbit would not be acknowledged at all at the time. The spacecraft, which fail in low orbit would normally receive Cosmos name. **An 8K72 launcher is sometimes identified as Lunnik or Luna, 8K78 is also known as the Molniya launcher, both are based on Korolev's R-7 ICBM. 8K82K (UR-500) launcher is known today as Proton. Note: This table includes missions conducted within Soviet L-1 and N-1/L-3 projects. Although all of them flew unmanned, they tested hardware, which was developed with the goal of landing a man on the Moon. Post-Soviet developments Luna-Glob Although the USSR virtually abandoned lunar exploration with the end of the Moon race in mid-1970s, Russian scientists still saw the Moon as potential target for research. However only after the fall of the Soviet Union and the following a decade of economic turmoil, another lunar exploration project -- Luna-Glob -- made it into the Russian space program at the beginning of the 21st century. Speaking at the 5th International Aerospace Congress in Moscow, on August 29, 2006, Deputy Chief of the Federal Space Agency, Vitaly Davydov, listed Luna-Glob among high-priority exploration projects funded by the Russian government. In December of the same year, Roskosmos announced that the launch of the Luna-Glob spacecraft was scheduled for 2012. However in November 2007, Russian officials quoted launch date for Luna-Glob as 2010 and at the beginning of December 2007, during President Putin's visit to NPO Lavochkin, its head Georgy Polishuyk announced that the first new-generation spacecraft would be launched toward the Moon in 2009, or "three years earlier than planned." Initial requirements issued in 2008 for the preliminary design of the Luna-Glob project, called for the launch of the probe onboard the Soyuz-2 rocket. Cooperation with China The jump-start of the Russian lunar exploration program also coincided with emerging space power of China. Two countries apparently looked at the possibility of cooperation in the field on September 8, 2006, during the 7th meeting of a sub-commission on space, which was a part of the Russian-Chinese commission, preparing regular summits. Speaking to journalists, the head of Roskosmos Anatoly Perminov said that lunar exploration was a priority during the meeting and several contracts involving Russian and Chinese organizations were signed. Perminov promised an agreement on the cooperation in the field before the end of 2006. On October 4, 2006, Head of Roskosmos, Anatoly Perminov discussed space cooperation with Indian officials. One of the cooperative projects discussed at the meeting was the Russian participation in the second Indian lunar mission, then planned for 2010-2011. It was expected that NPO Lavochkin would develop technology for taking lunar soil samples for the probe. On Nov. 12, 2007, during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow, Russia and India signed an agreement on lunar exploration. According to the plan penned by head of Roskosmos Anatoly Perminov and Madhavan Nair, secretary of India's Department of Space and chairman of the Space Commission, in 2011, India would launch a lunar probe, which would carry a 400-kilogram lunar rover built in Russia. Russia, India to search for lunar water Published: 2009 March 4 Russian planetary scientists mull an ambitious goal for a cooperative lunar mission with India – the search for water ice. A hard-to-reach but potentially critical for the future of space exploration task of touching lunar water was to be discussed during a visit of the Indian delegation to Moscow this month. "We wanted this mission to be not simply a technological project aiming to insert a satellite into the orbit of the Moon and to land another one on its surface, but rather have this pair of orbiter and a lander to accomplish a fundamental scientific task," says Aleksandr Zakharov, the deputy director of Moscow-based Space Research Institute, IKI. Russian scientists narrowed scientific goals of the project to two major fields – the seismic research and the exploration of polar regions of the Moon. The latter task became especially attractive to planetary scientists in 1990s, after a US probe had found signs of water ice around lunar poles. By proving the existence of water on the Moon, researchers would not simply write an important page in the geological history of the Earth’s natural satellite, but would also provide a major imperative if humans ever attempt to establish a base on the Moon. In 2006, NASA chose Shackleton Crater near the South Pole of the Moon as the likely address for the future permanently occupied outpost. Scientists however are yet to sample ice on the Moon, and, the race is on for what could be one of the major discoveries of the next decade. Reaching the lunar ice would not be easy. Any significant amounts of ice are probably trapped on the floors of deep polar craters, which have not seen sunlight for eons. "We are trying to see if a rover can help us (to reach the lunar ice)," Zakharov says, "However we are facing very low temperatures inside of those depressions and it is not likely that a regular rover would work. However we are searching and discuss the possibilities of what could be done (within the scope of the project)." When head of Roskosmos Anatoly Perminov and Madhavan Nair, secretary of India's Department of Space and chairman of the Space Commission first penned the agreement on the Chandrayaan-2 mission, it promised to lift off in 2011. However after two years of planning and new challenging goals scientists brought to the table, the spacecraft is not expected to fly until 2015. Writing and photography by Anatoly Zak All rights reserved Last update: March 6, 2009 |
PICTURE GALLERY Copyright © 2001 Anatoly Zak
The backup copy of the E-1 spacecraft, which was the first to escape Earth gravity and impact the Moon.
The backup copy of the E-3 spacecraft, which was the first to swing around the Moon and to photograph its dark side.
The E-6 lunar lander in pre-launch configuration. Credit: NPO Lavochkin
The E-6 spacecraft. Click to enlarge: 300 by 400 pixels / 44 KB. Copyright © 2005 Anatoly Zak
The Luna-9 lander.
A still from archival footage shows pre-launch processing of the E6 lander. Credit: RKK Energia
The E-6S lunar-orbiting spacecraft in pre-launch configuration. Credit: NPO Lavochkin
The backup copy of Luna-10 spacecraft, which orbited the Moon.
The carrier stage, which was used to deliver Luna-9 landers and Luna-10 orbiters toward the Moon.
The artist rendering of the E-8-5M lunar sample return spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. Credit: NPO Lavochkin
The E-8-5 lunar sample return spacecraft during prelaunch processing. Credit: NPO Lavochkin
The ascent stage of the E-8-5 spacecraft, which delivered soil samples from the lunar surface back to Earth.
The reentry capsule of the E-8-5 spacecraft in landing configuration.
The Lunokhod-3, the unflown successor to the Lunokhod-1 and 2 rovers, which worked on the lunar surface.
The landing platform, which delivered automated lunar rovers on the surface of the Moon.
Luna-Glob would be the first Russian spacecraft heading to the Moon since mid-1970s. Click to enlarge. Copyright © 2008 Anatoly Zak
A possible configuration of the Russian lunar lander targeting polar regions of the Moon. Credit: NPO Lavochkin
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