MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. Russia’s space program currently has research missions to both the Moon and Venus in the pipeline, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said in an interview with Razvedchik Journal.

"Research missions to the Moon and Venus currently occupy a central place in the plans of Roscosmos and the Russian Academy of Sciences for studying other celestial bodies. Let me remind you that back in 1970, our country succeeded in successfully landing a spacecraft on another planet in the Solar System. And that was Venus. Therefore, we will probably move in this direction first," Manturov said.

Earlier, Academician Lev Zeleny, scientific director of the Space Research Institute (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, announced in an interview with TASS that Russian scientists would check the cloud layers and the surface of Venus for the presence of biomarkers of primitive life, as part of the Venera-D mission.

About Venera-D Project

The launch of the Venera-D project’s spacecraft – a lander, a balloon probe, and an orbiter – is planned for 2036.

Earlier, Oleg Korablev, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Head of the Planetary Physics Department at the Space Research Institute, told TASS that the development of the Russian unmanned interplanetary station Venera-D was included in the national space exploration project. According to him, preliminary design work is planned to begin in January 2026, coinciding with the launch of the national project. According to plans, the Venera-D mission will consist of a lander, balloon probes, and an orbiter.