MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Russia is an attractive international partner in space exploration as it has laid good groundwork since the last century for exploring deep space, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with students of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University on Wednesday.
One of the students told the Russian leader that he was studying plasma propulsion engines and, like many other Bauman University students, he was very much inspired by deep space exploration.
"It seems to me that plasma propulsion units will make this process much quicker and more energy efficient," the student said, asking the president about whether the Russian state would support this sphere and develop international cooperation in the coming years.
The Russian president said in response that such ideas had originated back in the 1960s and Russia had laid good groundwork in this field.
"And, of course, when we talk about deep space, we look attractive for our potential partners also because we have the relevant technological potential," he explained.
Russia is a leader in this sphere, Putin stressed.
"However, we could have done and should have practically accomplished much more than we have done until now," he said. "We could have done this, if we had worked more purposefully on this issue."
This field is very promising "from the standpoint of transportation and the standpoint of moving objects and from the standpoint of energy sources for implementing the projects related to deep space," the Russian leader said.
"Without this, deep space exploration is hardly possible and this is our competitive advantage," Putin stressed.