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Roscosmos suggests starting the creation of moon base elements and exploration robots

The draft Federal Space Programme envisions that already in 2018 work will be started to develop the elements of a moon base

© EPA/MIGUEL GUTIERREZ

MOSCOW, August 11, /ITAR-TASS/. Russia's moon exploration plans have found reflection in a draft Federal Space Programme (FSP) for a 2016-2025 period, worked by the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos). The draft FSP envisions that already in 2018 work will be started to develop the elements of a moon base and special-purpose technology that will be required for building it, the newspaper Izvestia writes referring to the document a copy of which it has available.

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Russia to focus on Moon, Mars exploration, repeat Phobos-Grunt mission

Izvestia quotes the draft Programme as pointing out that "The 'Manned Flights' avenue of research includes projects to bring into being an on-ground development complex as the prototype of a first-phase moon base consisting of four modules (habitation, laboratory, power, and modernised node) for comprehensive linkage and verification of the adopted architectural and technical solutions".

The draft Programme also presupposes that a mobile manipulator crane, a grader, an excavator, a cablelayer, and a mobile robot for lunar surface exploration will be created and tested for building a luna base.

According to the newspaper's data, the financing of a number of research and experimental design operations at the moon base is supposed to be started in 2018. In all, Roscosmos requests the allocation of 10.37 billion roubles within a period till 2025 inclusive for the implementation of the works.

Roscosmos staff prefer not to comment on the FSP, the paper specifies.

It was Vice-Premier Dmitry Rogozin who stated in April of the current year that Russia, in prospect, intends to start the colonization of the Moon.

A source at the United Space Rocket Corporation told Izvestia that it is too early now to comment on detailed contents of the draft FSP, for the document is yet to be edited.

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