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Russia’s Luna-26 mission may be launched one year earlier — Roscosmos chief

Borisov told reporters that launching the Moon probe ahead of schedule would require a more coordinated and prompt effort on the part of specialists involved in the project

KOROLEV /Moscow Region/, October 27. /TASS/. The launch of Russia’s Luna-2026 mission to the Moon may be rescheduled from 2027 to 2026, the head of Russia’s state-run space corporation Roscosmos said on Thursday.

"We may even try to reschedule it to an earlier date. There are plans [to launch it] in 2026, but 2027 remains [the main option] at this point," Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov said during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with young scientists and space industry specialists.

Later, Borisov told reporters that launching the Moon probe ahead of schedule would require a more coordinated and prompt effort on the part of specialists involved in the project.

The Luna-26 moon mission envisages sending an orbiter to carry out remote research of the Earth’s natural satellite. The orbiter will map the distribution of minerals on the Moon’s surface and the allocation of frozen water in its soil and fulfill other scientific tasks.

Borisov said back in August that the Luna-26 and Luna-27 space missions were scheduled for 2027 and 2028, respectively. Later, he told the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku that the possibility of sending these missions ahead of schedule is now being examined.