It is no secret that the exploration of the Moon and the creation of a habitable base on it is one of the priorities of Russian cosmonautics. However, to implement such a large-scale project, it is not enough to organize a one-time flight, but it is necessary to build an infrastructure that would allow regular flights to the Moon and from it to Earth. For this, in addition to creating a new spaceship and super-heavy launch vehicles, it is necessary to create bases in space, which are orbital stations. One of them may appear in Earth orbit as early as 2017-2020 and will be developed in subsequent years by building up modules, including those for launching to the Moon.

It is assumed that by 2024 the station will be equipped with power and transformable modules designed to work with lunar missions. However, this is only part of the lunar infrastructure. The next important step is the lunar orbital station, the creation of which is included in the Russian space program. Starting from 2020, Roscosmos will consider technical proposals for the station, and in 2025, draft documentation for its modules should be approved. At the same time, computers and scientific equipment for the lunar orbital station will begin to be developed as early as 2022, in order to switch to ground testing from 2024. The composition of the lunar station should include several modules: energy, laboratory, as well as a hub - for docking spacecraft.

Speaking about the need for such a station in the orbit of the Moon, it should be noted that it is possible to fly from the Moon to Earth only once every 14 days, when their orbital planes coincide. However, circumstances may require an urgent departure, in which case the station will be simply vital. In addition, she can decide whole complex tasks of a different nature, ranging from communications to supply issues. According to a number of experts, the most rational option would be to place the lunar orbital station at the Lagrange point, located 60,000 km from the Moon. At this point, the attractive forces of the Earth and the Moon are mutually balanced, and from this place it will be possible to launch to the Moon or Mars with minimal energy costs.

The scheme of the flight to the moon will probably look like this. The booster launches the spacecraft into orbit, after which it will be received space station Russia. in earth orbit. There it will be prepared for further flight, and if necessary, the ship will be assembled here from several modules launched in several launches. Having started, the ship will overcome the distance to the Russian lunar orbital station and dock to it, after which it can remain in orbit, and the descent vehicle will fly to the Moon.

On the feasibility of creating a lunar orbital station

According to a number of experts, both in Russia and abroad, it seems most expedient to first deploy a lunar orbital station in circumlunar orbit, the main purpose of which over time would become the role of a transfer station on the way from the Earth to the lunar base. Moreover, it may allow for more early stages achieve the reusability of vehicles on the route between the orbits of the Earth and the Moon.

Naturally, programs of experiments on remote sensing of the Moon, monitoring of the interplanetary medium, including cosmic rays of solar, galactic and extragalactic origin, and determining the consequences of their long-term impact on humans, plants and animals can also be carried out on board the lunar orbital station.

IN technical terms the creation of a lunar orbital station is possible on modern level development of domestic space technology. However, there is still no great need for a lunar orbital station at the first stages of lunar exploration, and the implementation of manned expeditions and the delivery of cargoes are quite possible without its presence, which was clearly demonstrated by the expeditions to the Moon under the Apollo program. And even vice versa, the need to dock with this station imposes additional ballistic restrictions on the moments of launch to the Moon. Also, at the first stages of the exploration of the Moon, it is hardly advisable to use reusable spacecraft, since the use of reusable vehicles before the start industrial production rocket fuel on the Moon will increase the mass of cargo delivered from the Earth and complicate the entire transport space system as a whole.

The creation of a lunar orbital station will require a significant amount of work not only to launch the station modules into the orbit of an artificial satellite of the Moon, but also to operate it. Therefore, the creation and operation of an orbital station is expedient only after the start of industrial production of rocket fuel on the Moon and the serial use of reusable vehicles. In this case, the main purpose of such a station may be the storage of rocket fuel and the refueling of transport ships with it.

Lunar orbital station

The heads of space agencies agreed to create an international lunar visited platform, which could be the first step towards deep space exploration. A discussion of the potential appearance of the platform and the requirements for its elements and used interfaces has begun.

Proposals for the future program for the creation and operation of the station will be presented to the heads of partner agencies in the ISS program in the first half of 2017.

The lunar exploration program is the strategic goal of the Russian manned cosmonautics. Astronauts are scheduled to land on the surface of the Moon in the 2030s, followed by the foundation of a lunar base. The lunar base is being designed by RSC Energia and TsNIIMash.

Sources: informatik-m.ru, universal_ru_de.academic.ru, unnatural.ru, rubforum.ru, universal_ru_en.academic.ru

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Roskosmos is preparing to participate in the construction of the Deep Space Gateway (DSG) near-lunar visited station, proposed by NASA. The idea is to create a multi-module visited station in a halo orbit several thousand kilometers from the Moon. Such a station should become a new laboratory for the study of cosmic effects and a support for further research manned flights to the Moon and Mars.

The project was presented to NASA in March 2017, when the course to the Moon of the new administration of US President Donald Trump became apparent. NASA, under Barack Obama, abandoned the idea of reaching the Moon and designated Mars as a goal with a transitional stage of visiting a near-Earth asteroid - the Asteroid Redirect Mission. In view of the complexity and, most importantly, the duration of the outlined strategy, the approach of the new president is aimed at bringing some significant results closer. First, he launched people to the moon immediately in the first test flight of the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft in 2019, but technical experts dissuaded - the risk is high.

It is easier to launch from the Moon to Mars. If you assemble a Martian ship in a near-lunar halo orbit, gradually bringing up fuel tanks and structural elements, you can save up to a third of the mass of fuel for a flight, compared to starting from low Earth orbit. You can achieve even greater savings if you take part of the station in the form of a compartment of a Martian ship.

Do not forget the political motive. Today, the main foreign policy adversary of the United States is China. And he is already approaching the creation of his own near-Earth station. Therefore, it is important for the United States to emphasize the continued technological superiority, the lunar station is excellent for this, and here Russia, Europe and Japan are simply helping in this.

What is Russia's interest here?

Despite the political differences between Russia and the United States, common sense, backed by economic motives, has prevailed in the Russian space industry. For Roscosmos, cooperation with NASA in the 90s under the Mir program, and in the 2000s under the ISS program, practically ensured the safety and high level manned astronautics. The ISS project has now been extended until 2024, and after it no one could name a worthy and at the same time feasible goal for the budget. Despite the declared lunar ambitions, as soon as money was discussed during the adoption of the Federal space program for 2015-2025, the first thing that went under the knife was a super-heavy rocket, without which reaching the moon is extremely difficult. There was hope for a four-launch scheme with the Angara A5V, but it had to be forgotten when it became clear that there was no other demand for this rocket, and there would be only one launch pad on Vostochny. Only the developments of the interplanetary spacecraft "Federation" were able to save, but without the "Angara-A5V" it is doomed to near-Earth flights, which are now dominated by the ready-to-work Soyuz-MS.

Even assuming that there was money in the budget for a super-heavy rocket, is it worth tearing the industry up for ten years in order to repeat Armstrong's walk 60 years ago? And then what? Curtail all work and forget how the United States did in the 70s?

As a result, until yesterday, Roskosmos was in a stalemate - it makes little sense to fly to the Moon, and it only makes sense to fly near the Earth to the ISS, which will end soon. But with the entry into the lunar partnership, everything changes.

First, there are again opportunities to receive orders for the development and operation of technology for NASA. Secondly, a long-term meaning appears in a superheavy rocket and interplanetary flights, because we do not just fly for self-affirmation, but fly to work to develop technology and advance humanity into deep space, and to a large extent not at our own expense. Thirdly, the industry receives such a long-awaited new impetus for development: finally, there is a sense in the Federation spacecraft, new station modules, life support systems, space suits, instruments, lunar satellites, lunar rovers ... Young teams can finally realize themselves not in repeating Soviet schemes , but to bring something of their own at the modern level.

The participation of Roscosmos also helps NASA. Programs that NASA tried to develop alone: Constellation, Asteroid Redirect Mission, were very vulnerable to changes in domestic policy. The international partnership imposes mutual obligations and the refusal of a project acquires not only an economic, but also a political color, and here no one wants to lose extra points. This also applies to Russian international programs.

So, despite the predominant participation of the United States in the DSG project, the partners' dependence here is mutual, which, in fact, is called cooperation in space exploration. This can only be welcomed.

As a goal for the next thirty or forty years, Russia chooses the Moon. What will be the domestic lunar program? Numerous draft documents and proposals from leading space companies and industry institutes helped to put together the "puzzle" of disparate proposals into a single picture.

Development of a national strategy for the development of our natural satellite was the topic of the round table "Study of the nearest planets of the solar system on the example of the exploration of the surface of the moon", which was held in mid-October 2014 in the TASS conference hall. Representatives of the Federal Space Agency, RSC Energia, IKI RAS, NPO named after S.A. Lavochkin, TsNIIMash and the Keldysh Center. Additional Information about the Russian lunar program was presented at the Fifth International Moscow Symposium on Solar System Research, held at the Space Research Institute (IKI) on October 13–17.

Science and life // Illustrations

Modeling of the lunar base "Moon seven" on the panoramic system of virtual reality of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov. Drawing "Lin Industrial" and the Mehmat of Moscow State University.

Stages and conditions for the implementation of the lunar program. Federal Space Agency.

The first stage of the Russian lunar program. Federal Space Agency.

Elements of a promising manned lunar infrastructure. Federal Space Agency.

A ship for delivering the crew to lunar orbit with an upper stage. Federal Space Agency.

Lunar infrastructure of the third stage of RSC Energia

Science and life // Illustrations

At the beginning of next year, the Federal Space Program (FSP) for 2016-2025 should be approved. Projects and research that fall into it will receive funding in the next decade. Of course, changes can be made in the course of work, but usually they are associated with the timing of implementation, and not with an increase in allocated funds. Plans beyond the FSF 2016–2025 are considered in two additional documents: Concepts for the National Program for the Exploration of the Moon and the Long-Term Program for Deep Space Exploration. These documents have not yet been adopted and are in the process of being finalized.

First the machines...

At the first stage (in FKP 2016–2025 it is registered), our natural satellite is going to be studied only with the help of automatic stations. Unlike the expeditions of the 1970s, new domestic lunar stations must land in the polar region of the moon.

There were no national expeditions to the Selena in Russia for a very long time - almost forty years. The last Soviet lunar lander, Luna-24, completed the task of delivering soil in August 1976. The participation of Russian scientists in foreign lunar programs has so far been limited to the installation of the LEND (Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector) neutron detector on the American probe Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The domestic device recorded dips in neutron radiation initiated by cosmic rays in the upper layer of the lunar surface. Such dips indicate the presence of hydrogen in the lunar soil. Of course, these may be its various compounds, but other indirect data, in particular, observations of absorption lines made by American scientists using the Indian Chandrayaan-1 probe, confirm that this is most likely water ice.

To obtain evidence of the presence of water ice in the lunar soil, NASA scientists conducted interesting experiment: the fall of the Centaur upper stage (UR) into the region of the Cabeus crater, where the neutron detector data showed the presence of hydrogen. After the collision of the RB with the Moon, a cloud of dust rose. The LCROSS mini-probe flying behind the Centaurus ( Lunar C Rater Observation and Sensing Satellite- A spacecraft for observing and probing lunar craters) flew through it and registered the presence of about 150 kg of water in the form of steam and ice in a raised cloud. This made it possible to estimate the mass fraction of ice in the regolith at approximately 2.7–8.5%.

Measurements of the neutron radiation of the Moon before LRO were also carried out by the Clementine and Lunar Prospector spacecraft, but their instruments did not provide high spatial resolution. They only pointed out that the dips in neutron emission are roughly related to polar craters. The LRO data showed that neutron emission dips are recorded both inside the craters and in their vicinity. This may mean that there are reserves of water ice not only in "cold traps" - craters where the Sun never looks - but also nearby. How they got there is not entirely clear. Astrophysicists suggest that there is a mechanism for the migration of water molecules due to their knocking out by solar wind ions.

The fact remains that there is water ice on the surface - where sunlight! For planning future lunar missions, this is fundamentally important - it is very difficult to create a probe that will work in a permanent shadow. It would have to be powered by powerful isotopic energy sources and somehow communicate with the Earth after landing in the "pit". Previously, when scientists hoped to find ice only in "cold traps", the practical benefits of such a find were not obvious. It is difficult to build a lunar settlement in a shaded crater and it is not easy to organize an automatic expedition there. When ice was also discovered around the craters, the idea immediately arose that research could be carried out in the foreseeable future by a direct method - by landing spacecraft.

So, according to the new Federal Space Program, in 2019 the Luna-25 probe (or Luna-Glob) should land on the moon in the Boguslavsky crater, which is located in the southern polar region of the Moon. The device will be launched by the Soyuz-2.1A rocket, the dry mass of the spacecraft will be 533 kg, the total weight will be 1450 kg. Payload weight (including a manipulator for taking soil samples) - 30 kg.

Luna 25 is a prototype probe for training. According to CEO NPO named after S.A. Lavochkin Viktor Vladimirovich Khartov, “you need to re-learn how to land on the moon.” As part of the project, landing systems and ensuring work on the surface will be worked out. Despite the test character, the mission is unique: unlike the Soviet probes, the Russian automatic station will land not in the equatorial, but in the polar region of the Moon, which is very interesting for scientists.

It is very likely that Russia will lose the lead in the new "lunar race" to the lunar poles. In 2016-2017 (two or three years earlier than Luna-25), the Indian mission Chandrayan-2 will launch, which will include an orbiter weighing approximately 1400 kg and a descent module (1250 kg), including a small rover (300 -100 kg). The vicinity of the south pole of the moon was chosen as the landing site for the Chandrayaan-2 descent vehicle.
At the end of 2015 or at the beginning of 2016, Chinese specialists will try to deliver the second Chinese lunar rover (mission 嫦娥四号 - "Chang'e-4"), and automatic delivery of lunar soil is planned for 2017-2018. Judging by the information available to date, the landings of Chinese vehicles will be carried out far from the polar regions. However, the plans of the Middle Kingdom may well change.

The issue of funding a European landing project in the polar region of the Moon - Lunar Lander - was considered in 2012, but no money was allocated. Europe is still focused on joint exploration of the moon with Russia.

The Japanese lunar mission Selene-2, also consisting of an orbiter, a landing platform and a rover, could launch in 2017, but is experiencing significant budgetary problems. It is likely that the mission will be canceled or its timing will be revised.

The landing of the device will take place in a passive mode, the dimensions of the landing ellipse will be 15 by 30 km and will be determined by the accuracy of the pre-landing trajectory of the device. The probe must work on the lunar surface for at least a year. On board, scientific experiments will be held to study the features of the polar regolith and the polar exosphere of our natural satellite. The device will be equipped with a manipulator for opening the top layer of soil in the landing area, for moving soil samples into the onboard mass spectrometer, for pointing the onboard infrared spectrometer and TV camera at the most interesting surface areas in the vicinity of the landing site. The probe will experimentally measure the content of water and other volatile compounds in the surface layer.

The next vehicle, the orbital Luna-26 (or Luna-Resource-1 orbital), is scheduled to launch in 2021. If something goes wrong, it is planned to repeat the mission in two years - in 2023. The dry weight of the apparatus is 1035 kg, the total weight is 2100 kg. Payload weight - 160 kg. The launch is also with the help of the Soyuz-2.1A launch vehicle.

The Luna-26 spacecraft will explore the Moon from a polar orbit, which will make it possible to conduct a global survey of the entire surface and detailed studies of the regions of the poles. The period of operation in lunar orbit will be at least three years. During the first stage, geophysical studies of the Moon, the lunar exosphere and the surrounding plasma will be carried out in working orbits of 100x150 km and 50x100 km. At the second stage, the apparatus will be transferred to the third working orbit of 500–700 km for physical research on the search for and registration of cosmic particles of the highest possible energies - the LORD experiment (lunar orbital radio detector).

In addition, the orbiter will serve as a repeater for the next mission, Luna-27 (or Luna-Resource-1 landing), which is scheduled for 2023. If the 2023 mission fails, the landing will be repeated in 2025.

The probe "Luna-27" (it will also be launched by "Soyuz-2.1A") will be heavier than the test "Luna-25": the dry mass of the device will be 810 kg, the total weight - 2200 kg. The payload mass will reach 200 kg, including a European drill for "cryogenic" (not evaporating "volatile" substances from the ground) drilling. This spacecraft will land on the moon in the most promising region of the south pole for further research and will ensure the implementation of the program scientific research for a period of at least one year. The possibility of placing a mini-rover on Luna-27 is being considered.

The Luna-27 apparatus is to be created on the basis of on-board systems and technical solutions worked out in the Luna-25 project. Its main feature will be the use of a high-precision landing system with the ability to avoid obstacles on the final section of the descent. This system will reduce the margin of error in the position of the landing point on the lunar surface to a size of the order of several hundred meters. Due to the high accuracy of the descent, the landing area of Luna-27 will be chosen based on the criteria of maximum convenience for priority scientific research.

The second feature of Luna-27 will be its use as a direct radio communication system with ground stations, and an independent VHF communication channel with the board of the lunar polar satellite "Luna-26". The VHF channel will be used during the landing phase of the probe to transmit to the orbiter telemetric on-board information about the operation of all systems and the properties of the surface in the landing area. In the event of an emergency or an accident during landing, this information will allow you to fully restore the complete picture of the process and find out the cause of the failure.

The third important feature of the Luna-27 project is a cryogenic soil sampling device, which will make it possible to take samples of the lunar polar regolith from a depth of 10–20 cm to 2 meters and determine the nature of the distribution of volatile compounds in depth.

A radio beacon will be installed on board the Luna-27 probe, and it will be possible to continue its operation after the completion of the research program on board. To do this, the power supply of the radio beacon will be transferred to a direct connection to the onboard radioisotope generator.

It is planned that Luna-27 will be created with significant participation of ESA: many on-board systems, including high-precision landing, will be built by European specialists.

The last lunar station laid down in the FKP 2016-2025 is Luna-28 (Luna-Resource-2, or Luna-Grunt). The mass of the probe will be about 3000 kg, payload - 400 kg. He will probably go to the Moon in 2025 using the Angara-A5 rocket with an oxygen-kerosene upper stage DM-03. The main goal of Luna-28 is to deliver samples of lunar matter from the vicinity of the South Pole to Earth scientific centers.

The Luna-29 probe, a large lunar rover with a “cryogenic” drill, is not included in the FKP 2016–2025, which means that it will be implemented only in the second half of the 2020s.

In addition to the creation of automatic interplanetary stations, at the first stage of the lunar program, numerous research projects will be carried out on the topic of the lunar transport system and lunar infrastructure. Funding for them is included in the FKP. It also provides for the allocation of funds for the development of a super-heavy rocket: only for development - but not the creation "in metal"!

... and later on a person

As stipulated in the Federal Space Program 2016-2025, flight tests of the new Russian spacecraft PTK NP (New Generation Manned Transport Vehicle) will begin in 2021. In 2021-2023, the new spacecraft will launch twice to the ISS in an unmanned version. It is supposed to be put into orbit by means of the Angara-A5 launch vehicle (perhaps in a "shortened" version - without URM II).

According to FKP 2016-2025, in 2024 the PTK NP should go into space for the first time in a manned version and deliver astronauts to the ISS or to the so-called Advanced Manned Orbital Infrastructure (POI). The PPOI presumably consists of one scientific and energy module, a nodal module, an inflatable residential (“transformable”) module, a slipway module and one or two free-flying OKA-T-2 modules.

In addition, as part of the PTK NP tests, the possibility of an unmanned flight around the Moon is being considered. The slides presented by RSC Energia indicate the dates for such a mission - 2021, and also show a two-launch scheme: one Angara-A5 launch vehicle puts into orbit an oxygen-kerosene upper stage DM-03, equipped with a docking station and a docking system , and the second is a spaceship.

An elementary calculation shows that according to such a scheme, DM-03 can send a payload weighing no more than 10–11 tons around the Moon. It is not clear how industry specialists are going to solve this problem - whether they will use the PTK “lunar version” propulsion system for additional acceleration NP or will they be limited to flying in a highly elliptical orbit, “not reaching” the Moon?

Judging by the slides of RSC Energia, manned flybys of the Moon on the PTK NP should take place as early as 2024. However, in the FKP 2016–2025, flight tests of the lunar version of the PTK NP are laid down only for 2025. And there are incredibly many such discrepancies in the proposals of enterprises, the federal program and concepts. Documents resemble a patchwork quilt, not a single finished plan.

In addition, as shown on the slides, in 2023 (in the "concept of the lunar program" other dates are named - 2025), it is planned to send a prototype tug with low-thrust engines and a large cargo container (cargo - 10 tons) into the lunar orbit: will it be "nuclear tug" or something equipped with large solar panels? The first option seems more logical, but the slides show the second one - with solar panels. Probably, the prototype will have a power of 0.3–0.5 MW, which is 2–3 times less than the megawatt complex.

As already mentioned, Russia's lunar plans are not limited to FKP 2016-2025. Scientists and engineers in the space industry are also trying to develop a long-term concept for a national program for the exploration of the moon until 2050.

Lunar orbital station, outpost and base

In accordance with the Concept of the National Program for the Exploration of the Moon, flights of a super-heavy rocket with a payload of about 80–90 tons in low Earth orbit should begin as early as 2026. It should be noted that other sources give more realistic dates for the first launch of the "heavyweight" - 2028-2030. In the first flight, the new launch vehicle, using new powerful upper stages, will send an unmanned PTK NP into orbit around the Moon.

At the end of 2027, a large megawatt-class space tug with low-thrust engines should bring a cargo weighing 20 tons to the lunar orbit in 7–8 months. Moreover, the tug itself is launched by a super-heavy rocket, and the cargo is launched by the Angara-A5. The cargo could be a lunar orbital station module or a heavy probe/landing science platform.

The Luna-Orbit program is planned for the period from 2028 to 2030. A reusable automatic lunar spacecraft (MLAK) "Corvette" will be sent to the natural satellite of the Earth, and a tanker with fuel for its refueling will be sent to the circumlunar orbit. The probe will be able to deliver soil samples from the surface to the PTK NP (which will be in lunar orbit). There are various versions of the program, in particular, involving the use of lunar rovers.

The next stage in the exploration of the Moon, after 2030, is likely to be the construction of a station in lunar orbit. The station will consist of power (launch in 2028), hub (2029), residential (2030) and storage (2031) modules. The operating mode of the mini-station is a visit. Its main tasks are to provide comfortable living conditions for astronauts while working in orbit around the Moon and logistical support for lunar missions. Starting from 2037, it will be necessary to replace the station modules that have exhausted their resource.

Long-awaited manned flights with astronauts landing on the lunar surface are also planned after 2030. The first launches will be carried out according to a two-launch scheme with separate launching of bundles from upper stages and a lunar takeoff and landing ship, as well as upper stages and a manned spacecraft. If this option is approved, then Russian cosmonauts will set foot on the lunar surface for the first time 15 years after the start of the lunar program and 62 years after the historic flight of Apollo 11.

One manned flight to the Moon per year is envisaged. With the commissioning in 2038 of the super-heavy class PH with a carrying capacity of 150-180 tons, flights will be carried out according to a single launch scheme with an increase in frequency to two or three per year.

According to the Long-Term Program for the Exploration of Deep Space, in parallel with manned expeditions, the deployment of the so-called "lunar test site" in the southern polar region of the Moon will begin. It will include automatic scientific instruments, telescopes, prototype devices for the use of lunar resources, etc. The polygon will include a small lunar base - an outpost. The outpost is intended for the life of the crew during a short-term (up to 14 days) stay on the lunar surface. The outpost will probably include modules: energy (launch in 2033), hub (2034), residential (2035), laboratory (2036) and warehouse (2037). The modules will be created based on the experience of operating a circumlunar orbital station.

The construction of a large lunar base is planned only for the 40s of the 21st century. The modular composition of the base will be similar to the composition of the outpost, but it will ensure the life of the astronauts for a longer period and have increased radiation protection.

In the 2050s, on the basis of lunar experience, and possibly lunar resources, a flight to Mars will be undertaken. And before that time, before 2050, it is planned to deliver soil from Phobos (the mission "Phobos-Grunt-2", or "Boomerang", has already been laid down in the FKP 2016-2025 and is scheduled for 2024-2025) and Mars (2030-2035). years), to create an assembly complex at the Lagrange point for reusable ships that will fly along the Earth-Mars route, to build a fleet of "nuclear tugs" with an electric power of 4 MW and more.

The creators of the Long Term Program estimated the cost of exploration of the Moon. According to their calculations, in the period from 2014 to 2025, the annual costs will amount to from 16 to 320 billion rubles (in total, about 2 trillion rubles will be spent during this period) and will be determined mainly by the costs of creating ships, habitable modules, interorbital tugs and means excretion.

In the next decade (2026–2035), when, in addition to the development and flight testing of space vehicles involved in the implementation of the lunar program, intensive operation of space systems will begin, annual costs will amount to 290 to 690 billion rubles (peak load falls on 2030–2032). - the period of the first landing of astronauts on the surface of a natural satellite and the beginning of the construction of the lunar orbital station), and the total costs for this period are almost 4.5 trillion rubles. Starting from 2036 and until 2050, the annual costs will be from 250 to 570 billion rubles (the total costs for this period are about 6 trillion rubles).

Thus, the total cost of the program from 2015 to 2050 is estimated at 12.5 trillion rubles. Less than 10% of the total financial costs (excluding flight test costs) will be spent on the development of all space assets necessary for its implementation (including launch vehicles and interorbital transportation). The main financial burden for the entire period under review (2014–2050) falls on the operation of space technology (over 60% of the total costs).

Questions, questions...

For the first time in many years, a completed strategy for the development of manned cosmonautics for decades (!) years ahead has been submitted to the government for approval. The choice of the Moon as a strategic goal also looks quite reasonable - after all, a Martian expedition without relying on lunar resources and lunar experience will turn into a risky one-time "flag pole".

Moon or Mars?

The main question that arises after getting acquainted with the new Russian space strategy, is the timing. The 2030s, 2040s, 2050s are too far away to take such plans seriously. There is a fear that the delay in the implementation of the lunar project will lead to the fact that the state will have a desire to "jump out of the lunar train, which is barely crawling" and cancel the program. In the event of such a negative scenario, the resources for the development (and possibly the creation) of "lunar funds" will be wasted.

It also looks strange to link the program to a new (not yet implemented) relatively heavy (14-15 tons in the near-Earth and 20 tons in the near-lunar version) spacecraft PTK NP, for the delivery of which to the near-lunar orbit it will be necessary to create a super-heavy rocket with a payload of 80-90 tons per low earth orbit.

A few years ago, the American company Space Adventures, which sells "tourist" places on Russian ships Soyuz, with the consent of RSC Energia, offered an interesting service - a flyby of the Moon. According to the presented flight scheme, the upper stage DM with a passive docking unit is launched into low orbit by a Proton-M heavy-class rocket, then a ship with a pilot and two tourists starts to it on the Soyuz launch vehicle. The Soyuz spacecraft docks with the upper stage - and the bunch goes around the Moon. The journey takes 7-8 days. The company calculated that making changes to the equipment and organization of the flight would cost $250-300 million (excluding an unmanned flight to test the system).

Of course, flying into orbit around the Moon is much more complicated than a flyby mission, however, when using the modified Soyuz instead of the PTK NP, as well as the KVTK oxygen-hydrogen upper stage for launching from near-Earth orbit and the modernized Fregat for braking and accelerating near the Moon, an orbital lunar expedition can be “fitted” into two Angara-A5 missiles. Of course, docking with a cryogenic upper stage in near-Earth orbit is a rather risky operation, but such an action is also present in the state strategy (two-launch flyby mission on the PTK NP), and in proposals Space Adventures.

Thus, the need to create a super-heavy rocket for manned flights into orbit around the Moon is by no means obvious. The use of such a missile moves the mission from the category of realistic plans for the next decade to the category of a “strategy” with a timeline for implementation “closer to 2030”.

It will be either very difficult or simply impossible to find commercial payloads for a super-heavy carrier, and maintaining a complex infrastructure for the sake of two lunar flights a year is extremely wasteful. Any financial or political crisis(and they happen in Russia with a regularity of about once every 8-10 years) will put an end to such a project.

It should also be noted that in the proposed program there is a dispersal of forces: instead of creating a lunar base, the industry will be forced to deal either with the Moon-Orbit program or with the construction of a lunar orbital station, the need for which is extremely poorly substantiated.

Advantages and disadvantages of a lunar base relative to a station in orbit around the moon

Lunar Base Benefits:

– Access to lunar resources (regolith, ice), the ability to use lunar resources (regolith) to protect against radiation;
– Absence of weightlessness and related problems;
– Normal living conditions (eating, shower, toilet);
- Empty hulls from cargo modules can be used to increase the living volume of the base (in the case of a lunar orbital station, new modules increase its mass and fuel costs for orbit correction);
- The base, located at the “peak of eternal light”, is illuminated by the Sun almost all year round: there is the possibility of using solar energy to generate electricity and simplifying the thermal control system;
– The ability to explore the Moon using field geology methods (rather than remote ones – from orbit);
– When using the “direct scheme”, a launch to the Earth is possible at almost any time (synchronization of orbits and docking in the orbit of the Moon is not required);
– Experience in the construction of planetary bases;
– Higher propaganda effect compared to the lunar orbital station.

Moonbase Disadvantages:

- It is required to create landing platforms for the delivery of cargo and astronauts to the surface of the Moon;

– Working conditions on the surface of the planet will differ from the conditions in orbit, which will require the development of fundamentally new residential modules;
– Studies of the lunar surface are possible only in the vicinity of the base;
– Relatively high cost of deployment and operation.

It is strange that a nuclear tug with low thrust engines, which has no analogues in the world, is extremely poorly represented in the long-term program of deep space exploration. But it is precisely this unique development that could help save time significantly: to deliver heavy loads (about 20 tons) into orbit around the Moon by a nuclear tug, a superheavy carrier is not needed. Flights of the tug along the Earth orbit - lunar orbit route could begin as early as the first half of the 2020s!

On the one hand, of course, it cannot be said that the motto of the proposed program is “Flag on the Moon at any cost!” (the first landing after 2030), and on the other hand, the use of the Moon as a resource base is not visible either: there are no proposals for a reusable lunar transport system, and the production of fuel / energy from local resources is not prescribed as a priority.

There are not so many places in the polar regions of the Moon where all the conditions necessary for the rapid and convenient deployment of the lunar base (flat surface, "eternal light", the possible presence of water ice lenses in shaded craters nearby) are met, and for them it can flare up competitive fight. And by postponing the creation of a manned lunar infrastructure to the 2030s, and the construction of the base to the 2040s, Russia may lose priority and lose the lunar territories forever!

Criticizing - suggest!

Following this principle, about a year ago, the author of the article proposed his own version of the project for the deployment of a lunar base - "Moon Seven" (the seventh landing of a man on the moon). Thanks to the help of a group of enthusiasts, including representatives of the space industry, it was possible to determine in a first approximation the parameters of both the base itself and the transport system necessary for its construction.
The main idea of this proposal is “Fly today!”, that is, the project uses only those means, the creation of which is possible in the near (+5 years) future.

The modernized Angara-A5 missile is supposed to be used as the basis of the transport system. Two options for upgrading the carrier are proposed. The first is the replacement of the four-chamber engine RD0124A with a thrust of 30 tf for URM II with two RD0125A engines with a total thrust of 59 tf. This possibility does not require significant changes in the design of the launch vehicle and has already been considered by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The second upgrade option is to replace the URM II and the KVTK oxygen-hydrogen upper stage with one large oxygen-hydrogen upper stage, which will significantly increase the mass of the launcher on the departure trajectory to the Moon.

To enter the lunar orbit and land, the project uses a landing stage based on the existing and developed Fregat rocket launcher. The author is aware of the fact that space technology is not a children's designer's cubes and a significant revision sometimes means a complete alteration of the RB or KA.

According to preliminary calculations, the transport system based on the upgraded Angara-A5, the oxygen-hydrogen upper stage and the Lunar Frigate will be able to deliver a clean cargo weighing 3.2–3.6 tons to the lunar surface (depending on the chosen option for upgrading the launch vehicle and not including the dry mass "lunar frigate" ≈1.2 tons).

In the Luna Seven proposal, all payloads—the base modules, the power plant, the leaky lunar rover, tankers, and the two-seat manned spacecraft—must be written into these "quanta" of mass.
The design of the manned lunar spacecraft is based on the use of the hulls of the descent vehicle and the utility compartment of the Soyuz. The ship lands on the lunar surface without fuel for the return trip - the supply needed for the return must first be delivered by two tankers.
It is doubtful whether it is possible to “squeeze” a manned spacecraft, consisting of SA, BO (the household compartment also functions as an airlock) and a “lunar Frigate” with landing legs, into 4.4–4.8 tons. It is clear that this will require a high "weight culture" and a new elemental base. However, let us recall that the mass of the Gemini maneuvering two-seat spacecraft capable of rendezvous and docking in orbit was 3.8 tons.
The direct flight scheme, without docking in the orbit of the Moon, with all its shortcomings, has a number of advantages. The ship does not expect the return of the expedition in orbit for a long time. The problem of the presence of stable circumlunar orbits is removed (due to the influence of the Earth, the Sun and the mascons under the surface, not all circumlunar orbits are stable). A unified landing platform is used both for the delivery of base modules and other cargoes, and for a manned spacecraft. Any other variants of the transport system require the development of new elements and new spacecraft. There are no complex docking operations at the Earth or at the Moon, which means that the installation of a docking port and other systems for docking will not be required. You can start to Earth at almost any moment. And most importantly, all operations are carried out with reference to the infrastructure of the base, which avoids duplication (simultaneous construction of a station in orbit and a base on the surface).
The scheme with the landing of a heavy SA on the surface is not energetically optimal. The "Luna Seven" proposal also considered the "classic" variants of the expedition with docking in the orbit of the Moon, however, they require the creation of not only a separate light lunar ship, but also a lunar landing module, which greatly complicates the concept.
Luna seven V.2.0 is also being considered, a version in which not a new spacecraft, but a modernized Soyuz spacecraft is used to fly into orbit around the Moon. In this case, a launch vehicle with a payload capacity of about 40 tons in low Earth orbit or a multi-launch scheme with numerous dockings (which increases the cost of the program and increases the time before the first flights) will be required.

As a place for the deployment of the first lunar settlement (rather, the “first tent”), the region of the south pole of the moon, namely Malapert mountain, was chosen. This is a fairly flat plateau with a direct line of sight to the Earth, which provides good communication conditions and is a convenient landing site. Mount Malapert is the “peak of eternal light”: it has sunshine for 89% of the time, and the duration of the night, which happens only a few times a year, does not exceed 3–6 days. In addition, there are shadowed craters near the proposed base location, which may contain lenses of water ice.

Calculation of the reserves of the base's life support system shows that with a moderate closure in terms of water and oxygen (similar to that already achieved at orbital stations), for a crew of two to work, it is enough to send one three-ton module with reserves per year (and when switching to partial use of local resources -- even less). In the process of base growth, the number of crew members will be increased to four people, which means that two modules with cargo will need to be sent annually. These modules are docked to the base and, after using the reserves, form additional residential volumes.
The proposed scheme for deploying, supporting and expanding the base requires no more than 13 launches of heavy (and not super-heavy!) missiles per year.
The base modules are self-propelled, equipped with motor-wheels, which greatly simplifies the assembly of the lunar "first tent" and eliminates the need for an urgent creation of a lunar rover-crane for transportation.
The base of the first stage includes two residential modules with life support systems and cabins for cosmonauts, service (main command post) and scientific modules, a storage module with supplies for the first crew, and a separate power plant module.
Before the construction of the base, using a unified transport system, it is proposed to deliver a communications satellite to a lunar orbit in one launch (after the base is deployed, communications in its vicinity can be provided using a repeater tower, but a satellite is needed at the initial stage) and light automatic lunar rovers (2–3 pcs.) directly on the plateau of Mount Malapert. The rovers will make the final selection of the base deployment site, as well as install radio and light beacons to form a grid of coordinates that will help to accurately land the modules, tankers and manned ships.
To protect the base crew from radiation, it is proposed to use a cable-stayed roof, which is delivered to the Moon in a folded state. In the future, after opening the roof, a layer of regolith about a meter thick is applied using a soil thrower. This option is the preferred "traditional" backfilling of modules, since it allows access to the outer surface of the "barrels" and does not create additional difficulties for building up the base (additional modules simply drive under the roof and dock to the main structure). In addition, when using the roof, the amount of "earth" work is reduced.
In the Luna Seven proposal, the leaky lunar rover of the base of the first stage, equipped with a detachable module with a jaw bucket, is also considered in detail. The possibility of using one of the base modules as a pressurized lunar rover has been evaluated. The calculation of the solar power station of the base was made: most of its mass is made up of rechargeable batteries, which make it possible to survive a short night at the "peak of eternal light".
As the main communication system with the Earth, it is proposed to use a laser installation similar to the one already tested during the LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) mission. The weight of the equipment on the American probe was only 32 kg, the power consumption was 0.5 W, and the information exchange rate reached 20 Mb/s. On Earth, four telescopes with a mirror diameter of 40 cm were used for reception. Of course, in the case of a lunar base, backup communication channels in the radio range will also be required.
The cost of creating the Luna Seven base of the first (crew of two people) and second (crew of four people) stages, according to preliminary assessment, will amount to 550 billion rubles. Possible term the implementation of the project is ten years from the start of the decision, of which five years are the direct deployment of the base and the work of the crews. At the third stage - with the advent of nuclear tugs with low-thrust engines and carriers that are more capable of lifting compared to the Angara-A5 - the scheme for deploying and supplying the base changes.

As experience is gained, new lunar construction technologies are being introduced: inflatable domes, 3D printers for printing from regolith, special equipment for creating artificial caves.
The goals of the project we proposed are: securing one of the promising sites on the Moon for Russia, gaining experience in building planetary bases and life on other planets in the shortest possible time, testing technologies and methods worked out on Earth in real lunar conditions, exploring the Moon and searching for resources. Various options for making a profit are also being worked out - from paid remote control of lunar rovers to the supply of matter and energy.

In conclusion, we note that the author did not set the task of contrasting the sentence "Moon seven" state program(strategy) of the exploration of the moon. The purpose is only to demonstrate that various options for such development are possible, including those that do not “leave” for the 2030s and 2040s.

lunar station

Moon colonization- the settlement of the Moon by man, which is the subject of fantastic works and real plans for the construction of inhabited bases on the Moon.

Lunar base (artist's view)

Lunar base with an inflatable module. sketch drawing

A lunar rover being loaded from a cargo spacecraft. sketch drawing

Fantastic

Human permanent habitation on another celestial body (outside the Earth) has long been a recurring theme in science fiction.

Reality

The rapid development of space technology makes it possible to think that space colonization is a completely achievable and justified goal. Due to its proximity to the Earth (three days of flight) and a fairly good knowledge of the landscape, the Moon has long been considered as a candidate for the creation of a human colony. But while the Apollo program demonstrated the feasibility of going to the moon (and being a very expensive project), it also dampened the enthusiasm for establishing a lunar colony. This was due to the fact that the analysis of dust samples delivered by the astronauts showed a very low content in it of light elements necessary for life support.

Despite this, with the development of astronautics and the reduction in the cost of space flights, the Moon appears to be an exceptionally attractive object for colonization. For scientists, the lunar base is a unique place for conducting scientific research in the field of planetary science, astronomy, cosmology, space biology and other disciplines. The study of the lunar crust can provide answers to the most important questions about the formation and further evolution of the solar system, the Earth-Moon system, and the emergence of life. The absence of an atmosphere and lower gravity make it possible to build observatories on the lunar surface, equipped with optical and radio telescopes, capable of obtaining much more detailed and clear images of remote regions of the Universe than is possible on Earth.

The moon also has a variety of minerals, including metals valuable for industry - iron, aluminum, titanium; in addition, in the surface layer of the lunar soil, regolith, an isotope helium-3, rare on Earth, has been accumulated, which can be used as fuel for promising thermonuclear reactors. Currently, methods are being developed for the industrial production of metals, oxygen and helium-3 from regolith, and possible deposits of water ice are being searched for. Deep vacuum and the availability of cheap solar energy open up new horizons for electronics, foundry, metalworking and materials science. In fact, the conditions for metal processing and the creation of microelectronic devices on Earth are less favorable due to the large amount of free oxygen in the atmosphere, which worsens the quality of casting and welding, making it impossible to obtain ultrapure alloys and microelectronic substrates in large volumes. It is also of interest to bring harmful and dangerous industries to the Moon.

The moon, due to its impressive landscapes and exoticism, also looks like a very likely object for space tourism, which can attract a significant amount of funds for its development, promote space travel, to ensure the influx of people for the development of the lunar surface. Space tourism will require certain infrastructure solutions. The development of infrastructure, in turn, will contribute to a larger penetration of mankind on the moon.

There are plans to use moon bases for military purposes to control near-Earth space and ensure dominance in space.

Helium-3 in the plans for the exploration of the moon

Scientists [ Who?] believe that helium-3 can be used in thermonuclear reactors. To provide energy to the entire population of the Earth during the year, according to scientists from the Russian Institute of Geochemistry and analytical chemistry them. Vernadsky, approximately 30 tons of helium-3 are needed. The cost of its delivery to Earth will be ten times less than that of electricity currently generated at nuclear power plants.

When using helium-3, long-lived radioactive waste does not occur, and therefore the problem of their disposal, which is so acute in the operation of heavy nuclear fission reactors, disappears by itself.

However, there are serious criticisms of these plans. The fact is that in order to ignite the thermonuclear reaction deuterium + helium-3, it is necessary to heat the isotopes to a temperature of a billion degrees and solve the problem of keeping the plasma heated to such a temperature. The current technological level makes it possible to contain a plasma heated to only a few hundred million degrees in the deuterium + tritium reaction, while almost all the energy obtained in the course of a thermonuclear reaction is spent on confining the plasma. Therefore, helium-3 reactors are considered by many leading scientists, for example, academician Roald Sagdeev, who criticized Sevastyanov's plans, to be a matter of the distant future. More realistic, from their point of view, is the development of oxygen on the Moon, metallurgy, the creation and launch of spacecraft, including satellites, interplanetary stations and manned spacecraft.

Lunar power plants

Key technologies have, according to NASA, a technology readiness level of 7. The possibility of a large production volume equal to 1000 TW is being considered. At the same time, the cost of the lunar complex is estimated at about 200 trillion. USD. At the same time, the cost of producing a comparable amount of electricity by ground-based solar stations is 8,000 trillion. US dollars, ground-based thermonuclear reactors - 3300 trillion. US dollars, ground coal stations - 1500 trillion. USD

Practical Steps

The return of a man to the moon is planned, in particular, by NASA with the Constellation project.

China has repeatedly announced its plans for the exploration of the moon. On October 24, 2007, the first Chinese lunar satellite, Chang'e-1, was successfully launched from the Xichang Cosmodrome. His task was to obtain stereo images, with the help of which they would subsequently produce a three-dimensional map of the lunar surface. In the future, China plans to establish a habitable scientific base on the Moon. According to the Chinese program, the development of the natural satellite of the Earth is scheduled for 2040-2060.

The Japan Space Exploration Agency plans to commission a manned station on the Moon by 2030, five years later than previously thought.

The second half of 2007 was marked by a new stage in the space competition. At this time, the launches of lunar satellites of Japan and China took place. And in November 2008, the Indian satellite Chandrayan-1 was launched. The 11 scientific instruments from different countries installed on Chandrayaan-1 will make it possible to create a detailed atlas of the lunar surface, to carry out radio sounding of the lunar surface in search of metals, water and helium-3.

Problems

The prolonged presence of man on the Moon will require the solution of a number of problems. So, the Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field delays most of solar radiation. Many micrometeorites also burn up in the atmosphere. On the Moon, without solving the radiation and meteorite problems, it is impossible to create conditions for normal colonization. During solar flares, a stream of protons and other particles is created that can pose a threat to astronauts. However, these particles are not very penetrating, and protection against them is a solvable problem. In addition, these particles have a low speed, which means that there is time to take cover in anti-radiation shelters. Hard x-rays are a much bigger problem. Calculations showed that an astronaut after 100 hours on the surface of the Moon with a probability of 10% will receive a dose dangerous to health ( 0.1 Gray). In the event of a solar flare, a dangerous dose can be obtained within a few minutes.

Lunar dust is a separate problem. Lunar dust is composed of sharp particles (because there is no smoothing effect of erosion) and also has an electrostatic charge. As a result, lunar dust penetrates everywhere and, having an abrasive effect, reduces the life of mechanisms. And getting into the lungs, it becomes a threat to human health.

Commercialization is also not obvious. Need for large quantities helium-3 is not yet available. Science has not yet been able to achieve control over the thermonuclear reaction. The most promising project in this respect so far (mid-2007) is the large-scale international experimental reactor ITER, which is expected to be completed in 2015. After that, about twenty years of experiments will follow. Industrial use thermonuclear fusion expected no earlier than 2050 according to the most optimistic forecasts. In this regard, until that time, the extraction of helium-3 will not be of industrial interest. Space tourism also cannot be called the driving force behind the exploration of the Moon, since the investments required at this stage will not be able to pay off in a reasonable time due to tourism.

This state of affairs leads to the fact that proposals are made (see Robert Zabrin "A Case for Mars") space exploration should immediately begin with Mars.

Notes

Moon
Physical peculiarities	Internal structure Gravity Topography Magnetic field Atmosphere
Orbit	Orbit Phases New Moon Full Moon Solar Eclipse Lunar Eclipse Tide
Lunar surface	Selenography Visible side Far Side of the Sea Impact Crater Basin South Pole - Aitken Shackleton Ice Peak of Eternal Light Space weather Brief lunar phenomena
Selenology	Geology (chronology) Mineralogy Giant impact theory KREEP ALSEP Lunar laser ranging Late heavy bombardment Lunar rocks Regolith Meteorites
Study	Research Project Apollo Colonization Lunar conspiracy
Other	Calendar Month Crescent Moon Mythology Art Moon Illusion Origin
See also: Solar system Planetary satellites ((AMS Lunar Exploration))

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Moonlight Sonata
Lunar Madness

See what "Lunar Station" is in other dictionaries:

MOON STATION- automatic or manned station for work on the moon. The world's first automatic lunar station (stationary) Luna 9 (1966), automatic mobile Lunokhod 1 (1970), manned stationary Apollo 11 (1969). See Luna, Lunar self-propelled... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

lunar station- automatic or manned station for work on the moon. The world's first automatic lunar station (stationary) "Luna 9" (1966), automatic mobile "Lunokhod 1" (1970), manned stationary "Apollo 11" (1969). See Luna... encyclopedic Dictionary

Lunar station Deep Space Gateway (left). Render: NASA

NASA officials have announced the details of the Deep Space Gateway space program, which will be the preparatory stage for the Martian mission. As part of this program, the circumlunar space will be mastered, where astronauts must build and test systems before traveling to deep space, including to Mars. Robotic missions with a descent to the lunar surface will also be tested here. Astronauts from circumlunar space will be able to return home within a few days in the event of a problem. They take much longer to get from Martian orbit, so NASA prefers to first conduct tests at a closer distance - near the Moon.

The exploration of circumlunar space will begin with the first launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) carrier rocket with the Orion spacecraft. The three-week exploration mission is called Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1). It will be unmanned. Nevertheless, this mission should be a remarkable event for astronautics, because the spacecraft intended for people for the first time in history will fly so far from Earth.

Orion spacecraft. Render: NASA

The launch of the SLS with the Orion spacecraft will take place from Launch Complex 39B at the Space Center. Kennedy, presumably at the end of 2018. In orbit, Orion will straighten the solar panels and head towards the moon. The impulse to the ship will be given by the intermediate cryogenic propulsion system Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), which is located on the SLS launch vehicle directly under the Orion ship, as the upper stage of the rocket.

Intermediate cryogenic propulsion system. Render: NASA

The journey to the moon will take several days. At the end of it, Orion will undock from ICPS, and the latter, in turn, will launch several CubeSat mini-satellites into space. Together with the spacecraft, the SLS rocket is capable of launching 11 mini-satellites of 6 units each into orbit.

It is assumed that one of the satellites in the circumlunar space will be BioSentinel, which for the first time in the last 40 years will take out into deep space earth form life. The purpose of the BioSentinel scientific program is to study the effect of cosmic radiation on living cells during the 18 months of the satellite's operation.

NASA plans to get into the rhythm and make one launch a year in the 2020s. The first manned flight is scheduled for August 2021.

The plan for this flight is based on the translunar injection (TLI) profile - a kind of accelerating maneuver with a trajectory that brings the ship into lunar orbit. The trajectory is depicted in the diagram below, where the red dot indicates the location of the TLI maneuver. Before launching to the Moon, the ship will circle the Earth twice, gradually increasing its speed and preparing for TLI.

On the way back to Earth, the Orion spacecraft will use a gravitational maneuver, wrapping around the moon. During this flyby, the crew will fly thousands of kilometers beyond the Moon. For the first manned mission, NASA has set a flexible timeline. The mission can last from 8 to 21 days.

For lunar missions, NASA has defined goals and objectives. Together with experiments on the ISS, these science projects will enable preparations for future missions in deep space.

Flight equipment for the first and second SLS and Orion missions is now in production, life support systems and related technologies are being tested on the ISS. Research and development work continues to create housing and the propulsion system of a ship that will take people to Mars, here NASA is working closely with private companies and foreign partners who offer their own solutions to existing problems.

Lunar spaceport

During the first lunar missions, NASA is going not only to test systems and prove flight safety, but also to build a Deep Space Gateway spaceport in lunar orbit, which will become a gateway for studying the lunar surface and an intermediate stage before sending astronauts to Mars.

There will be a power source, a living module, a docking module, an airlock, a logistics module. The propulsion system will use predominantly electric propulsion to hold the lunar station in position or move to different orbits for different missions in the vicinity of the Moon, NASA writes.

Three main modules of the lunar station - power point, the habitation module and the logistics module - will be lifted into orbit by the SLS rocket and delivered by the Orion spacecraft.

NASA is going to maintain and use the Deep Space Gateway with its partners - how commercial companies and foreign partners.

Deep space transport

In the next phase, NASA plans to develop a Deep Space Transport (DST) spacecraft specifically designed for flights in deep space, including to Mars. It will be reusable ship on electric and chemical traction. The ship will pick up people from the lunar spaceport, take them to Mars or another destination - and then return them back to the moon. Here the ship can be repaired, refueled - and sent on the next flight.

Testing of the ship will take place in the next decade, and in the late 2020s, NASA plans to conduct a year-long test of the Deep Space Transport with a crew. Astronauts will spend 300-400 days in circumlunar space. This mission will dress rehearsal before sending astronauts to Mars. So far, the record for deep space stay is 12.5 days for 17 Apollo crew members.

Moon station. Creation of the lunar orbital station. Lunar orbital station