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Soviet automatic stations "Luna"

"Luna-1"- the world's first AMS launched into the region of the Moon on January 2, 1959. Having passed near the Moon at a distance of 5-6 thousand km from its surface, on January 4, 1959, the AMS left the sphere of gravity and turned into the first artificial planet of the solar system with the parameters: perihelion 146.4 million km and aphelion 197.2 million km. The final mass of the last (3rd) stage of the launch vehicle (LV) with the AMS "Luna-1" is 1472 kg. The mass of the Luna-1 container with equipment is 361.3 kg. The AMS housed radio equipment, a telemetry system, a set of instruments and other equipment. The devices are designed to study the intensity and composition of cosmic rays, the gaseous component of interplanetary matter, meteoric particles, corpuscular radiation from the Sun, and the interplanetary magnetic field. At the last stage of the rocket, the apparatus was installed for the formation of a sodium cloud - an artificial comet. On January 3, at a distance of 113,000 km from Earth, a visually observed golden-orange sodium cloud was formed. During the flight "Luna-1" the second was reached for the first time. space speed... Strong streams of ionized plasma have been registered for the first time in interplanetary space. In the world press, AMS "Luna-1" was named "Dream".

"Luna-2" September 12, 1959 made the world's first flight to another celestial body. On September 14, 1959, Luna-2 and the last stage of the launch vehicle reached the lunar surface (west of the Sea of ​​Clarity, near the craters Aristille, Archimedes and Autolycus) and delivered pennants with the State Emblem of the USSR. The final mass of the AMS with the last stage of the launch vehicle is 1511 kg with the mass of the container, as well as the scientific and measuring equipment 390.2 kg. An analysis of the scientific information obtained by Luna-2 showed that the Moon practically does not have its own magnetic field and radiation belt.

Moon-2

"Luna-3" launched on October 4, 1959. The final mass of the last stage of the launch vehicle with the Luna-3 spacecraft is 1553 kg, with a mass of scientific and measuring equipment with power sources of 435 kg. The equipment included the following systems: radio engineering, telemetry, photo-television, orientation relative to the Sun and the Moon, power supply with solar batteries, temperature control, as well as a complex of scientific equipment. Moving along a trajectory enveloping the moon, the AMC passed at a distance of 6200 km from its surface. October 7, 1959 photographed from the board "Luna-3" back side The moon. Cameras with long- and short-focus lenses captured almost half of the surface of the lunar globe, one third of which was in the edge zone of the side visible from the Earth, and two thirds - on the invisible side. After processing the film on board, the obtained images were transmitted by the photo-television system to the Earth, when the station was at a distance of 40,000 km from it. The flight "Luna-3" was the first experience of studying another celestial body with the transmission of its image from the spacecraft. After flying around the Moon, the AMS moved into an elongated, elliptical orbit of the satellite with an apogee altitude of 480 thousand km. Having completed 11 revolutions in orbit, it entered the earth's atmosphere and ceased to exist.

Moon-3

"Luna-4" - Luna-8- AMS, launched in 1963-65 for further exploration of the Moon and development of a soft landing on it of a container with scientific equipment. Experimental testing of the entire complex of systems providing a soft landing was completed, including astro-orientation systems, control of onboard radio equipment, radio control of the flight path and autonomous control devices. The mass of the AMS after separation from the booster stage of the RN is 1422-1552 kg.

Moon-4

"Luna-9"- AMS, for the first time in the world, carried out a soft landing on the Moon and transmission of an image of its surface to the Earth. Launched on January 31, 1966, a 4-stage LV using the satellite reference orbit. Automatic lunar station landed on February 3, 1966 in the Ocean of Storms region, west of the craters Reiner and Marii, at the point with coordinates 64 ° 22 "W and 7 ° 08" N. NS. The panoramas of the lunar landscape were transmitted to the Earth (at different angles of the Sun above the horizon). Seven radio communication sessions (more than 8 hours long) were carried out to transmit scientific information. The AMS operated on the Moon for 75 hours. Luna-9 consists of an AMS designed to operate on the lunar surface, a control equipment compartment and a propulsion system for trajectory correction and deceleration before landing. The total mass of the "Luna-9" after being placed on a flight path to the Moon and separated from the booster stage of the launch vehicle is 1583 kg. The mass of the AMS after landing on the moon is 100 kg. Its sealed housing contains: television equipment, radio communication equipment, a program-time device, scientific equipment, a thermal control system, and power supplies. The images of the lunar surface transmitted by Luna 9 and the successful landing were crucial for future flights to the Moon.

Moon 9

"Luna-10"- the first artificial satellite of the Moon (ISL). It was launched on March 31, 1966. The mass of the AMS on the flight path to the Moon is 1582 kg, the mass of the ISL, separated on April 3 after the transition to a selenocentric orbit, is 240 kg. Orbital parameters: perilune 350 km, aposetments 1017 km, orbital period 2 h 58 min 15 sec, inclination of the plane of the lunar equator 71 ° 54 ". Active operation of the equipment 56 days. During this time, the ISL made 460 orbits around the Moon, conducted 219 radio communication sessions, information was obtained about the gravitational and magnetic fields of the Moon, the Earth's magnetic plume, which the Moon and the ISL hit more than once, as well as indirect data on the chemical composition and radioactivity of the surface lunar rocks. working hours of the 23rd Congress of the CPSU For the creation and launch of the Luna-9 and Luna-10 AMS, the International Aviation Federation (FAI) awarded Soviet scientists, designers and workers with an honorary diploma.

Moon-10

"Luna-11"- the second ISL; launched on August 24, 1966. AMC weight 1640 kg. On August 27, Luna-11 was transferred to a circumlunar orbit with the following parameters: perilune 160 km, aposet 1200 km, inclination 27 °, orbital period 2 h 58 min. The ISL made 277 turns, having worked for 38 days. Scientific instruments continued the exploration of the Moon and near-lunar space, begun by the Luna-10 ISL. 137 sessions of radio communication were carried out.

Moon 11

Luna-12- the third Soviet ISL; launched on October 22, 1966. Orbital parameters: perilune about 100 km, apostles 1740 km. The mass of the AMS in the ISL orbit is 1148 kg. Luna-12 actively operated for 85 days. On board the ISL, in addition to scientific equipment, there was a photo-television system with high resolution(1100 lines); with its help, large-scale images of areas of the lunar surface in the region of the Sea of ​​Rains, the Aristarchus crater and others were obtained and transmitted to the Earth (craters up to 15-20 m in size differ, and individual objects up to 5 m in size). The station operated until January 19, 1967. 302 radio communication sessions were conducted. At the 602th orbit, after the flight program was completed, radio communication with the station was interrupted.

Moon-12

Luna-13- the second AMS to make a soft landing on the moon. It was launched on December 21, 1966. On December 24, it landed in the region of the Ocean of Storms at a point with selenographic coordinates 62 ° 03 "west longitude and 18 ° 52" n. NS. The mass of the AMS after landing on the moon is 112 kg. Data on the physical and mechanical properties of the surface layer were obtained with the help of a mechanical soil meter, dynamograph and radiation density meter. lunar soil... Gas-discharge counters, which registered cosmic corpuscular radiation, made it possible to determine the reflectivity of the lunar surface for cosmic rays. 5 large panoramas of the lunar landscape were transmitted to the Earth at different heights of the Sun above the horizon.

Moon-13

Luna-14- the fourth Soviet ISL. Launched on April 7, 1968. Orbital parameters: perilune 160 km, aposet 870 km. The ratio of the masses of the Earth and the Moon was refined; investigated the gravitational field of the moon and its shape by the method of systematic long-term observations of changes in the parameters of the orbit; the conditions for the passage and stability of radio signals transmitted from the Earth to the ISL and back were studied at different positions relative to the Moon, in particular, when approaching the lunar disk; cosmic rays and streams of charged particles coming from the Sun were measured. Additional information has been obtained for the construction of an accurate theory of the Moon's motion.

Luna-15 launched on July 13, 1969, three days before the launch of Apollo 11. The purpose of this station was to take samples of the lunar soil. She entered lunar orbit simultaneously with Apollo 11. If successful, our stations could take soil samples and for the first time make a start from the Moon with a return to Earth earlier than the Americans. In the book by Yu.I. Mukhin "Anti-Apollo: the lunar scam of the USA" it is said: "although the probability of a collision was much lower than in the sky over Lake Constance, the Americans asked the USSR Academy of Sciences about the parameters of the orbit of our AMS. They were informed. For some reason, the AMC hung out in orbit for a long time. Then she made a hard landing on the regolith. The Americans won the competition. How? What do these days of "Luna-15" circling around the Moon mean: malfunctions on board or ... negotiations of some authorities? Did our AMC crash on its own, or was it helped to do it? " Only Luna-16 was able to take soil samples.

Moon-15

Luna-16- AMS, which made the first flight Earth - Moon - Earth and delivered samples of lunar soil. Launched on September 12, 1970. On September 17, it entered a selenocentric circular orbit with a distance of 110 km from the lunar surface, an inclination of 70 °, an orbital period of 1 hour 59 minutes. Subsequently, the difficult task of forming a pre-landing orbit with a low perilune was solved. A soft landing was made on September 20, 1970 in the Sea of ​​Plenty region at the point with coordinates 56 ° 18 "E and 0 ° 41" S. NS. The soil intake device provided drilling and soil sampling. The Moon-Earth rocket was launched from the Moon by command from the Earth on September 21, 1970. On September 24, the reentry vehicle was separated from the instrument compartment and landed in the calculated area. Luna-16 consists of a landing stage with a soil intake device and a Luna-Earth space rocket with a reentry vehicle. The mass of the AMS when landing on the lunar surface is 1880 kg. The landing stage is an independent multi-purpose rocket unit with a liquid-propellant rocket engine, a system of tanks with propellants, instrument compartments and shock-absorbed supports for landing on the lunar surface.

Moon-16

Luna-17- AMS, which delivered the first automatic mobile scientific laboratory "Lunokhod-1" to the moon. Luna-17 launch - November 10, 1970, November 17 - soft landing on the Moon in the region of the Sea of ​​Rains, at a point with coordinates 35 ° W. d. and 38 ° 17 "N lat.

During the development and creation of the lunar rover, Soviet scientists and designers faced the need to solve a complex of complex problems. It was necessary to create completely new type machine capable long time function in unusual conditions of open space on the surface of another celestial body. The main tasks: creation of an optimal propulsion device with high cross-country ability with low weight and energy consumption, ensuring reliable operation and traffic safety; systems remote control the movement of the lunar rover; ensuring the required thermal regime using a thermal control system that maintains the gas temperature in the instrument compartments, structural elements and equipment located inside the sealed compartments and outside them (in open space during lunar days and nights) within specified limits; selection of power supplies, materials for structural elements; development of lubricants and lubrication systems for vacuum conditions and more.

Scientific equipment L. s. but. was supposed to ensure the study of topographic and selenium-morphological features of the area; determination of the chemical composition and physical and mechanical properties of the soil; study of the radiation situation on the flight path to the Moon, in the circumlunar space and on the surface of the Moon; X-ray cosmic radiation; experiments on laser ranging of the moon. The first L. with. but. - the Soviet "Lunokhod-1" (Fig. 1), intended for a large complex of scientific research on the lunar surface, was delivered to the moon by the automatic interplanetary station "Luna-17" (see Error! Reference source not found.), worked on it surface from November 17, 1970 to October 4, 1971 and passed 10540 m. "Lunokhod-1" consists of 2 parts: an instrument compartment and a wheeled chassis. The mass of Lunokhod-1 is 756 kg. The sealed instrument compartment has a truncated cone shape. Its body is made of magnesium alloys, which provide sufficient strength and lightness. The upper part of the compartment housing is used as a radiator-cooler in the thermal control system and is closed with a lid. During moonlit night a cover covers the heatsink and prevents heat from radiating out of the compartment. During a lunar day, the lid is open, and the solar battery elements located on its inner side provide recharging of the batteries supplying the onboard equipment with electricity.

The instrument compartment contains thermal control systems, power supplies, receiving and transmitting devices of the radio complex, remote control devices and electronic converting devices of scientific equipment. In the front part there are: portholes of television cameras, an electric drive of a movable highly directional antenna used to transmit television images of the lunar surface to the Earth; a low-directional antenna providing reception of radio commands and transmission of telemetric information, scientific instruments and an optical corner reflector made in France. On the left and right sides there are installed: 2 panoramic telephoto cameras (moreover, in each pair one of the cameras is structurally combined with a local vertical determinant), 4 whip antennas for receiving radio commands from the Earth in a different frequency range. An isotope source of thermal energy is used to heat the gas circulating inside the apparatus. Next to it is a device for determining the physical and mechanical properties of the lunar soil.

Sharp temperature changes during the change of day and night on the surface of the Moon, as well as a large temperature difference between the parts of the apparatus located on the Sun and in the shade, necessitated the development of a special thermoregulation system. At low temperatures during the moonlit night, to heat the instrument compartment, the circulation of the coolant gas along the cooling circuit is automatically stopped and the gas is directed to the heating circuit.

The power supply system of the Lunokhod consists of solar and chemical buffer batteries, as well as automatic control devices. The solar battery is controlled from the Earth; the cover can be adjusted to any angle between zero and 180 ° to maximize the use of solar energy.

The on-board radio complex receives commands from the Control Center and transfers information from the vehicle to the ground. A number of systems of the radio complex are used not only when working on the lunar surface, but also during the flight from the Earth. Two television systems L. s. but. serve to solve independent tasks... The low-frame television system is designed to transmit television images of the terrain to the Earth, which are necessary for the crew, which controls the movement of the Lunokhod from the Earth. The possibility and expediency of using such a system, which is characterized by a lower image transmission rate compared to the broadcast television standard, was dictated by specific lunar conditions. The main one is a slow change in the landscape when the lunar rover moves. The second television system is used to obtain a panoramic image of the surrounding area and to take pictures of areas of the starry sky, the Sun and the Earth for the purpose of astro orientation. The system consists of 4 panoramic telephoto cameras.

The self-propelled chassis provides a solution to a fundamentally new problem in astronautics - the movement of an automatic laboratory on the lunar surface. It is designed in such a way that the lunar rover has a high cross-country ability and works reliably for a long time with a minimum dead weight and energy consumption. The chassis ensures the movement of the lunar rover forward (with 2 speeds) and backward, turns in place and in motion. It consists of a running gear, an automation unit, a traffic safety system, a device and a set of sensors for determining the mechanical properties of the soil and assessing the passability of the chassis. Turning is achieved due to different speeds of rotation of the wheels of the right and left sides and a change in the direction of their rotation. Braking is carried out by switching the chassis traction motors to the electrodynamic braking mode. Electromagnetically controlled disc brakes are applied to keep the rover on the slopes and to stop it completely. The automation unit controls the movement of the lunar rover by radio commands from the Earth, measures and controls the main parameters of the self-propelled chassis and the automatic operation of instruments for studying the mechanical properties of the lunar soil. The traffic safety system provides an automatic stop at the limit angles of roll and trim and overloads of the electric motors of the wheels.

The device for determining the mechanical properties of the lunar soil allows you to quickly receive information about the soil conditions of movement. The distance traveled is determined by the number of revolutions of the drive wheels. To take into account their slippage, an amendment is made, determined with the help of a freely rolling ninth wheel, which is lowered to the ground by a special drive and rises to its original position. The vehicle is controlled from the Center for Long-Range Space Communication by a crew consisting of a commander, driver, navigator, operator, and flight engineer.

The driving mode is selected as a result of evaluating television information and promptly arriving telemetric data on the amount of roll, trim of the distance traveled, the state and modes of operation of the wheel drives. Under conditions of space vacuum, radiation, significant temperature changes and difficult terrain along the route, all systems and scientific instruments of the Lunokhod functioned normally, ensuring the implementation of both the main and additional programs scientific research of the moon and outer space, as well as engineering and design tests.

Moon-17

"Lunokhod-1" examined the lunar surface in detail over an area of ​​80,000 m2. For this purpose, more than 200 panoramas and over 20,000 surface images were obtained with the help of television systems. The physical and mechanical properties of the surface layer of the soil were studied at more than 500 points along the route of movement, and an analysis of its chemical composition was carried out at 25 points. The cessation of active operation of Lunokhod-1 was caused by the depletion of the resources of its isotope heat source. At the end of the work, it was placed on an almost horizontal platform in such a position in which the corner reflector provided many years of laser ranging from the Earth.

"Lunokhod-1"

Luna-18 launched on September 2, 1971. In orbit, the station carried out maneuvers in order to develop methods of automatic circumlunar navigation and to ensure landing on the moon. Luna-18 completed 54 orbits. 85 radio communication sessions were carried out (checking the operation of systems, measuring the parameters of the trajectory of movement). On September 11, the braking propulsion system was activated, the station de-orbited and reached the Moon in the mainland surrounding the Sea of ​​Plenty. The landing site was selected in a mountainous area representing a large scientific interest... Measurements showed that the landing of the station in these difficult topographic conditions turned out to be unfavorable.

Luna 19- the sixth Soviet ISL; launched on September 28, 1971. On October 3, the station entered a selenocentric circular orbit with the following parameters: altitude above the lunar surface 140 km, inclination 40 ° 35 ", orbital period 2 h 01 min 45 sec. On November 26 and 28, the station was transferred to a new orbit. systematic long-term observations of the evolution of its orbit in order to obtain the necessary information to clarify the gravitational field of the moon, the characteristics of the interplanetary magnetic field in the vicinity of the moon were continuously measured, photographs of the lunar surface were transmitted to the earth.

Luna 19

Luna-20 launched on February 14, 1972. On February 18, as a result of deceleration, it was transferred to a circular selenocentric orbit with the following parameters: altitude 100 km, inclination 65 °, orbital period 1 h 58 min. On February 21, she made a soft landing on the lunar surface for the first time in the mountainous continental region between the Sea of ​​Abundance and the Sea of ​​Crises, at a point with selenographic coordinates 56 ° 33 "east longitude and 3 ° 32" n. NS. Luna-20 is similar in design to Luna-16. The soil sampling mechanism drilled the lunar soil and took samples, which were placed in the container of the reentry vehicle and sealed. On February 23, a space rocket with a reentry vehicle was launched from the moon. On February 25, the Luna-20 reentry vehicle landed in the design area of ​​the USSR. Samples of lunar soil were delivered to Earth, taken for the first time in the hard-to-reach continental region of the Moon.

Luna-21 delivered to the lunar surface "Lunokhod-2". The launch took place on January 8, 1973. Luna 21 made a soft lunar landing on the eastern edge of the Sea of ​​Clarity, inside Lemonnier Crater, at 30 ° 27 "E and 25 ° 51" N. NS. On January 16, I descended from the Luna-21 landing stage down the ladder "Lunokhod-2".

Luna-21

On January 16, 1973, Lunokhod-2 was delivered to the region of the eastern outskirts of the Sea of ​​Clarity (the ancient Lemonnier crater) with the aid of the Luna-21 automatic station. The choice of the specified landing area was dictated by the expediency of obtaining new data from the complex junction zone of the sea and the mainland (and also, according to some researchers, in order to verify the reliability of the fact of the Americans landing on the moon). Improvement in the design of on-board systems, as well as the installation of additional devices and the expansion of the capabilities of the equipment made it possible to significantly increase maneuverability and carry out a large amount of scientific research. For 5 lunar days in difficult terrain, Lunokhod-2 covered a distance of 37 km.

"Lunokhod-2"

Luna-22 was launched on May 29, 1974 and entered lunar orbit on June 9. Served as an artificial satellite of the Moon, exploration of the lunar space (including the meteorite environment).

"Luna-23" was launched on October 28, 1974 and soft-landed on the moon on November 6. Probably, its launch was timed to coincide with the next anniversary of the Great October Revolution. The tasks of the station included the capture and study of the lunar soil, but the lunar landing took place in an area with an unfavorable relief, because of which the soil intake device broke. On November 6-9, the studies were carried out according to an abridged program.

Luna-24 was launched on August 9, 1976 and landed on August 18 in the Sea of ​​Crisis region. The mission of the station was to take the "sea" lunar soil (despite the fact that "Luna-16" took soil on the border of the sea and the mainland, and "Luna-20" - on the mainland). The takeoff module with lunar soil was launched from the Moon on August 19, and on August 22 the capsule with the soil reached the Earth.

Luna-24

The program was compiled by the Institute space exploration RAS on behalf of Roscosmos in 2014. IKI proposes to use the Moon as a scientific testing ground for large-scale astronomical and geophysical research. It is proposed to create an optical observatory on the Moon and an automatic radio telescope-interferometer, consisting of separate receivers distributed over the surface of the Moon. Despite the fact that the program was not officially published, its main provisions were undoubtedly taken into account when developing the Federal Space Program for 2016-2025.

The program for the study and development of the Moon is divided into stages, united by a common strategic goal and differing in the methods of work on the Moon. In total, four stages of work on the Moon have been identified, although the experts themselves speak of three, since the latter is not considered in their program.

First stage: 2016-2028

Until 2028, it is planned to study the Moon by automatic stations, select a site for expanding the human presence. It is already known that it will be at the South Pole, but the exact location will be chosen only after the automatic missions provide all the information about the resources necessary to supply the future base, including energy (sunlight), the presence of ice, etc.

You can read more about all the spacecraft that are planned to be sent to the Moon in the first stage in the subsections of this page. In addition, by 2025 it is planned to begin sketch design of automatic research stations of a new generation, which will be able to start studying the Moon in the second half of the next decade and after 2030.

Scientific tasks

- study of the composition of matter and physical processes at the lunar poles
- study of the processes of interaction of space plasma with the surface and the properties of the exosphere at the lunar poles
- study of the internal structure of the Moon by methods of global seismometry
- research of ultra-high energy cosmic rays

Second stage: 2028-2030

The second stage is transitional. The developers of the program expect that by this time the country will have a super-heavy carrier rocket with a carrying capacity of about 90 tons (in low Earth orbit). For these years, it is planned to practice the operations of landing a manned expedition on the moon. It is planned to fly cosmonauts into a circumlunar orbit on the new PTK NP spacecraft, circumlunar docks of the spacecraft with fuel modules and a reusable one with a takeoff and landing apparatus. The latter will have to select samples of ice-containing soil from the lunar surface several times, which the cosmonauts will be able to deliver to Earth. The operational training program also includes refueling the takeoff and landing module in the lunar orbit.

Third stage: 2030-2040

During this period, a "lunar test site" with the first elements of infrastructure should not be created. Manned flights are only intended for short visiting expeditions. The goal of the astronauts will be to maintain equipment, machinery and scientific equipment.

Stage four: beyond the planning horizon

After 2040, a permanently inhabited lunar base with elements of an astronomical observatory should be built on the basis of the lunar test site. The base workers will be engaged in monitoring the Earth, experiments on the use of lunar resources, development of new space technology necessary for expeditions into deep space.

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

NASA representatives announced the details of the Deep Space Gateway space program, which will be the preparatory stage for the Mars mission. As part of this program, the lunar space will be developed, where astronauts must build and test systems before traveling into deep space, including Mars. Robotic missions with descent to the lunar surface will also be tested here. Astronauts from near-lunar space will be able to return home within a few days in case 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) rocket with the Orion spacecraft. The three-week exploration mission is called Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1). She will be unmanned. Nevertheless, this mission should be a wonderful event for astronautics, because it is intended for people spaceship for the first time in history will fly so far from the Earth.

Orion spaceship. Render: NASA

The launch of the SLS with the Orion spacecraft will take place from the launch complex 39B at the space center of the Space Center. Kennedy, presumably late 2018. In orbit, Orion will expand its solar panels and head towards the moon. The ship will be given impetus by the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), which is located on the SLS launch vehicle directly under the Orion, like the upper stage of the rocket.

Intermediate cryogenic propulsion system. Render: NASA

The road to the moon will take several days. Upon completion, 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 lifting 11 mini-satellites, 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 carry an earthly form of life into deep space. The goal 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 a rhythm with one launch per 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 acceleration maneuver with a trajectory that brings the ship into lunar orbit. The trajectory is shown in the diagram below, where the red dot indicates the location of the TLI maneuver. Before launching to the Moon, the ship will turn around the Earth twice, gradually increasing its speed and preparing for TLI.

On the return trip to Earth, Orion will go gravity-assist, orbiting the moon. During this flight, the crew will fly thousands of kilometers beyond the moon. NASA set flexible deadlines for the first manned mission. 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 scientific projects will allow preparation 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 a propulsion system for the spacecraft that will take people to Mars, here NASA works closely with private companies and foreign partners who offer their solutions to existing problems.

Lunar spaceport

During the first lunar missions, NASA is going to not only test the systems and prove the safety of flights, but also build the Deep Space Gateway 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 an energy source, a residential module, a docking module, an airlock, a logistics module. The propulsion system will use predominantly electrical propulsion to maintain the position of the lunar station or move to different orbits for different missions in the vicinity of the moon, writes NASA.

The three main modules of the lunar station - the power plant, the habitation module and the logistics module - will be lifted into orbit by an SLS rocket and delivered by Orion.

NASA is going to serve and use the Deep Space Gateway with its partners - both 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 deep space missions, including Mars. It will be a reusable ship powered by electric and chemical propulsion. The ship will pick up people from the lunar spaceport, take them to Mars or to 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 spacecraft will take place in the next decade, and NASA plans to conduct a year-long test of the Deep Space Transport with a crew in the late 2020s. Astronauts will spend 300-400 days in circumlunar space. This mission will be a dress rehearsal before sending astronauts to Mars. So far, the record for staying in deep space is 12.5 days for 17 Apollo crew members.

Roscosmos is preparing to participate in the project for the construction of a near-lunar visited station Deep Space Gateway (DSG), 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 studying space 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 with a transitional stage in 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 the approximation of any significant results. First, he launched people to the Moon immediately in the first test flight of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft in 2019, but technicians dissuaded him - the risk is high.

It is easier to start from the Moon and to Mars. If you assemble a Martian spacecraft in a circumlunar halo orbit, gradually bringing up tanks with fuel and structural elements, then you can save up to a third of the mass of fuel for a flight, compared to a launch from a near-earth orbit. Even greater savings can be achieved by grabbing part of the station in the form of a compartment on a Martian ship.

Don't 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 remaining 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, 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 of manned space exploration. The ISS project has been extended for today 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 the talk about money for the adoption of the Federal Space Program for 2015-2025 came under the knife, a super-heavy rocket went under the knife, without which reaching the Moon is extremely difficult. There was hope for a four-launch scheme with "Angara A5B", but we had to forget about it when it became clear that there was no other demand for this rocket, and there would be only one launch pad on the Vostochny one. They were able to save only the development of the Federation interplanetary spacecraft, but without Angara-A5V it is doomed to near-earth flights, where the Soyuz-MS, ready for operation, now dominates.

Even if we assume that there was money in the budget for a super-heavy rocket, is it worth breaking the industry ten years in order to repeat Armstrong's walk 60 years ago? And then what? Collapse all work and forget how the US did in the 70s?

As a result, until yesterday, Roskosmos was in a stalemate - there was no money to fly to the moon and there was no point in flying near Earth, but it only made sense to fly to the ISS, which would end soon. But with entering 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 super-heavy rocket and interplanetary flights, because we are not just flying for self-assertion, but flying to work for the development of technology and the advancement of mankind into deep space, and to a large extent not at our own expense. Thirdly, the industry receives such a long-awaited new stimulus for development: finally there is a sense in the Federation ship, new station modules, life support systems, spacesuits, instruments, lunar satellites, lunar rovers ... Young collectives can finally realize themselves not by repeating Soviet schemes , but to bring something of their own at the modern level.

The participation of Roscosmos also helps NASA. The programs that NASA tried to develop alone: ​​Constellation, Asteroid Redirect Mission, proved to be very vulnerable to changes in domestic policy. 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 prevailing US participation in the DSG project, the partners' dependence is mutual here, which, in fact, is called cooperation in space exploration. This is only welcome.

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

The 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 by the example of the exploration of the surface of the moon", which took place in mid-October 2014 in the TASS conference hall. Representatives of the Federal Space Agency, RSC Energia, IKI RAS, NPO named after S.А. Lavochkin, TsNIIMash and the Keldysh Center. Additional information on 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

Science and Life // Illustrations

Modeling of the lunar base "Luna Seven" on the panoramic virtual reality system of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, Moscow State University. MV Lomonosov. Drawing "Lin Industrial" and Mekhmat MSU.

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.

The spacecraft for delivering the crew to the 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 (FKP) for 2016–2025 is to be approved. Projects and studies 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 the allocated funds. Plans outside the FKP 2016–2025 are discussed in two additional documents: the Concept of 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 (it is he who is registered in the FKP 2016–2025), they are going to study our natural satellite only with the help of automatic stations. In contrast to the expeditions of the 1970s, new domestic lunar stations should land in the polar region of the Moon.

There were no national expeditions to Selena in Russia for a very long time - almost forty years. The last Soviet lunar apparatus, 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 only to the installation of the LEND (Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector) neutron detector on the American Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) probe. The domestic device recorded the dips of 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 various of its compounds, however, other indirect data, in particular, observations of absorption lines made by American scientists using the Indian probe "Chandrayan-1", confirm that this is most likely water ice.

To obtain evidence of the presence of water ice in the lunar soil, NASA scientists conducted an interesting experiment: the fall of the upper stage (RB) Centaur into the area of ​​the Cabeus crater, where data from neutron detectors showed the presence of hydrogen. After the collision of RB with the Moon, a cloud of dust rose. LCROSS mini-probe flying behind "Centaurus" ( Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite- The 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 the raised cloud. This made it possible to assess mass fraction ice in the regolith is about 2.7–8.5%.

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

The fact remains: there is water ice on the surface - where there is sunlight! This is fundamentally important for planning future lunar missions - after all, it is very difficult to create a probe that will work in constant shadow. It would have to be supplied with powerful isotopic energy sources and somehow provide communication with the Earth after landing in the "pit". Earlier, when scientists hoped to find ice only in "cold traps", the practical benefit of such a find was 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 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 probe "Luna-25" (or "Luna-Globe") should land in the Boguslavsky crater, which is located in the southern polar region of the Moon. The spacecraft will be launched by the Soyuz-2.1A rocket, the dry weight of the spacecraft will be 533 kg, and the total weight will be 1450 kg. Payload weight (including manipulator for soil sampling) - 30 kg.

Luna-25 is a prototype probe for training. According to Victor Vladimirovich Khartov, Director General of the Lavochkin Scientific and Production Association, "we need to learn to land on the moon anew." Within the framework of the project, the systems of landing and work on the surface will be tested. Despite the test nature, 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 to three years earlier than Luna-25), the Indian mission Chandrayan-2 starts, which will include an orbiter weighing about 1400 kg and a descent module (1250 kg), including a small rover (300 –100 kg). The vicinity of the Moon's south pole was chosen as the landing site for the Chandrayan-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 an automatic delivery of lunar soil is planned for 2017-2018. Judging by the information available to date, the Chinese vehicles will land far from the polar regions. However, the plans of the Celestial Empire may well change.

The issue of financing the European landing project in the polar region of the Moon - Lunar Lander - was considered in 2012, but the money was not allocated. Europe is still aiming at joint exploration of the moon with Russia.

Japan's Selene-2 ​​lunar mission, also consisting of an orbiter, a landing platform and a rover, could be launched in 2017, but is experiencing significant budgetary problems. The mission is likely to be canceled or revised.

The landing of the vehicle will be passive, 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 vehicle. The probe should work on the lunar surface for at least a year. On board will be scientific experiments 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 spacecraft, the orbital Luna-26 (or Luna-Resurs-1 orbital), is scheduled to start in 2021. If something goes wrong, the mission will be repeated in two years - in 2023. The dry weight of the apparatus is 1035 kg, the full weight is 2100 kg. Payload mass - 160 kg. Launch 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 allow a global survey of the entire surface and detailed studies of the poles. The term of operation in a circumlunar 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 device will be transferred to the third working orbit of 500–700 km for physical research on the search and registration of cosmic particles of the highest energies - the LORD experiment (lunar orbital radio detector).

In addition, the orbiter will serve as a relay 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 weight of the apparatus will be 810 kg, the full weight - 2200 kg. The payload mass will reach 200 kg, including the European drill for "cryogenic" (non-evaporating "volatiles" from the soil) drilling. This spacecraft will land in the most promising region of the South Pole for further research and will ensure the implementation of the research program for at least one year. The possibility of placing a mini-rover on the "Luna-27" is being considered.

The apparatus "Luna-27" is to be created on the basis of on-board systems and technical solutions worked out in the "Luna-25" project. His main feature will be the use of a high-precision landing system with the ability to avoid obstacles in the final section of the descent. These systems will reduce the permissible 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 precision of the descent, the Luna-27 landing area will be selected based on the criteria of maximum convenience for priority scientific research.

The second feature of Luna-27 will be the use of both 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 of the probe to transmit telemetric onboard information on the operation of all systems and on the properties of the surface in the landing area on board the orbiter. In the event of an emergency or an accident during landing, this information will allow you to completely 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 allow taking samples of the lunar polar regolith from a depth of 10–20 cm to 2 meters and finding out the nature of the distribution of volatile compounds over 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. For this, the power supply of the radio beacon will be switched to a direct connection to the on-board radioisotope generator.

It is planned that "Luna-27" will be created with significant participation of ESA: many onboard 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-Resurs-2, or Luna-Grunt). The probe's weight will be about 3000 kg, the payload - 400 kg. Probably, he will go to the Moon in 2025 with the help of the Angara-A5 rocket with an oxygen-kerosene upper stage DM-03. The main goal of "Luna-28" is the delivery of samples of lunar matter from the vicinity of the South Pole to the terrestrial scientific centers.

The probe "Luna-29" - a large lunar rover with a "cryogenic" drill - is absent 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 laid down in the FKP. It is also envisaged to allocate funds for the development of a super-heavy rocket: only for development - but not for creation "in metal"!

... and in the future a person

As stipulated in the Federal Space Program 2016–2025, flight tests of the new Russian spacecraft PTK NP (a 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 (possibly in a "shortened" version - without URM II).

According to the FKP 2016–2025, in 2024 the NPP is to go into space in a manned version for the first time and deliver astronauts to the ISS or to the so-called Advanced Manned Orbital Infrastructure (APOI). PPOI supposedly consists of one scientific-power module, a nodal module, an inflatable living ("transformable") module, a slipway module and one or two free-flying modules OKA-T-2.

In addition, within the framework of testing the NPP, the possibility of an unmanned flyby of the moon is being considered. The slides presented by RSC Energia indicate the timing of such a mission - 2021, as well as a two-launch scheme: one Angara-A5 launch vehicle is injected into orbit with 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 into orbit around the Moon. It is not clear how the industry experts are going to solve this problem - whether they will use the cruise propulsion system of the "lunar version" of the PTK for after-acceleration NP or will it be limited to a flight in a highly elliptical orbit that "does not reach" the Moon?

Judging by the slides from RSC Energia, manned fly-overs of the Moon at the NPP are to 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 similar discrepancies in the proposals of enterprises, federal program and the concepts are incredible. The documents are like a patchwork quilt, not a complete 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 of a tugboat with low-thrust engines and a large cargo container (cargo - 10 tons) to circumlunar 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 - with solar panels. Probably, the prototype will have a capacity of 0.3–0.5 MW, 2-3 times less than a megawatt complex.

As already mentioned, Russia's lunar plans are not limited to the 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 at low near-earth orbit about 80–90 tons. 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 LV, with the help of new powerful upper stages, will send the NP unmanned PTK into orbit around the Moon.

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

The Moon-Orbit program is planned for the period from 2028 to 2030. The reusable automatic lunar spacecraft (MLAC) Corvette will be sent to the natural satellite of the Earth, and a tanker with fuel to refuel it will be sent to the circumlunar orbit. The probe will be able to deliver soil samples from the surface to the NPP (which will be in circumlunar orbit). There are various versions of the program, in particular those 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 a circumlunar orbit. The station will consist of energy (launch in 2028), hub (2029), residential (2030) and storage (2031) modules. Mini-station functioning mode - visit. Its main tasks are: ensuring comfortable living conditions for astronauts while working in orbit around the Moon and logistic support of lunar missions. Starting in 2037, replacement of the station modules that have exhausted their service life will be required.

The long-awaited manned flights with the landing of astronauts on the lunar surface are also planned after 2030. The first launches will be carried out according to a two-launch scheme with separate withdrawal of bundles from the upper stages and the lunar take-off and landing vehicle, as well as the upper stages and the manned spacecraft. If this option is approved, then Russian cosmonauts will first set foot on the lunar surface 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 is envisaged per year. With the commissioning in 2038 of the PH of the super-heavy class with a carrying capacity of 150–180 tons, flights will be performed according to a single-launch scheme with an increase in frequency to two or three per year.

According to the Long-term program of deep space exploration, in parallel with manned expeditions, the deployment of the so-called "lunar testing ground" will begin in the southern polar region of the Moon. It will include automatic scientific instruments, telescopes, prototypes of devices for using 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 is likely to include modules: energy (launch in 2033), nodal (2034), residential (2035), laboratory (2036) and warehouse (2037). The modules will be created based on the operating experience of the lunar orbital station.

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

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

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

In the next decade (2026–2035), when, in addition to the development and flight tests of space vehicles involved in the implementation of the lunar program, intensive operation will begin space systems, the annual costs will be from 290 to 690 billion rubles (the 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 construction of the lunar orbital station), and the total costs for this period will be almost 4.5 trillion rubles. Starting from 2036 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 cost).

Questions, questions ...

For the first time in many years, a completed strategy for the development of manned astronautics for tens (!) 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-stick".

Moon or Mars?

The main question that arises after getting acquainted with the new Russian space strategy is 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, resources for the development (and possibly for the creation) of "lunar funds" will be wasted.

The linking of the program to the new (not yet implemented) relatively heavy (14-15 tons in the near-earth and 20 tons in the circumlunar version) spacecraft PTK NP also looks strange. low earth orbit.

Several years ago, the American company Space Adventures, which sells tourist seats on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, with the consent of RSC Energia, offered an interesting service - flying around the moon. According to the presented flight scheme, the upper stage DM with a passive docking unit is launched into low orbit by a heavy-class "Proton-M" rocket, then a spacecraft with a pilot and two tourists is launched to it on the Soyuz LV. The Soyuz spacecraft docks with the upper stage - and the bundle is sent to fly around the moon. The journey takes 7-8 days. The company calculated that making changes to the technique and organization of the flight would cost $ 250-300 million (excluding the unmanned flight to test the system).

Of course, a flight to orbit around the Moon is much more difficult than a flyby mission, however, when using the modified Soyuz instead of the PTK NP, as well as the oxygen-hydrogen upper stage KBTK for launching from near-earth orbit and the modernized Fregat for braking and accelerating near the Moon, lunar expedition can be "fit" into two Angara-A5 missiles. Of course, docking with a cryogenic upper stage in near-earth orbit is a rather risky operation, but a similar action is present in the state strategy (two-launch flyby mission on the NP STC) and in the proposals Space adventures.

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

Finding commercial loads for a super-heavy launch vehicle will be either very difficult or simply impossible, and maintaining complex infrastructure for the sake of two lunar flights a year will be extremely wasteful. Any financial or political crisis (and they happen in Russia with regularity 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 dispersion of forces: instead of creating a lunar base, the industry will have to deal with either the Moon-Orbit program, or the construction of a lunar orbital station, the need for which is extremely weakly justified.

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

Lunar base advantages:

- Access to lunar resources (regolith, ice), the ability to use lunar resources (regolith) to protect against radiation;
- Lack of weightlessness and associated problems;
- Normal living conditions (eating, showering, toilet);
- Empty hulls from cargo modules can be used to increase the living space 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;
- Ability to explore the Moon by field geology methods (and not remotely - from orbit);
- When using the "direct scheme", the launch to the Earth is possible practically at any time (synchronization of orbits and docking in the orbit of the Moon is not required);
- Experience in building planetary bases;
- Higher propaganda effect compared to the lunar orbital station.

Lunar base disadvantages:

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

- Working conditions on the planet's surface will differ from those in orbit, which will require the development of fundamentally new residential modules;
- Research of the lunar surface is possible only in the vicinity of the base;
- Relatively high cost of deployment and operation.

It is strange that the 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 this unique development that could help significantly save time: for delivery heavy loads(about 20 tons) into orbit around the Moon by a nuclear tug, a super-heavy carrier is not needed. The flights of the tug along the "near-earth orbit - circumlunar orbit" route could begin in the first half of the 2020s!

On the one hand, of course, one cannot say that the motto of the proposed program is "A 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: there are no proposals for a reusable lunar transport system, the production of fuel / energy from local resources is not spelled out as a priority task.

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 until the 2030s, and the construction of the base - until the 2040s, Russia may miss priority and lose lunar territories forever!

Criticizing - offer!

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 manned landing on the Moon). Thanks to the help of a group of enthusiasts, including representatives of the space industry, it was possible, in a first approximation, to determine the parameters of both the base itself and the transport system required for its construction.
The main idea of ​​this proposal is “Fly today!”, That is, the project uses only those tools, 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 for the transport system. Two options for upgrading the carrier are proposed. The first one is the replacement of the four-chamber RD0124A engine with a thrust of 30 tf with an URM II with two RD0125A engines with a total thrust of 59 tf. This possibility does not require significant changes in the LV design and has already been considered by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The second modernization option is the replacement of the URM II and the oxygen-hydrogen upper stage of the KBTK with one large oxygen – hydrogen upper stage, which will significantly increase the mass of the launch vehicle on its departure trajectory to the Moon.

To enter the lunar orbit and land, the project uses a landing stage based on the existing and used Fregat RB. The author is aware of the fact that space technology is not a building block for children, and a significant revision sometimes means a complete alteration of an RB or a spacecraft.

According to preliminary calculations, the transport system based on the modernized "Angara-A5", oxygen-hydrogen upper stage and the "lunar frigate" will be able to deliver to the lunar surface a clean cargo weighing 3.2–3.6 tons (depending on the chosen version of the launch vehicle modernization and excluding dry weight "Lunar frigate" ≈1.2 t).

In the Luna Seven proposal, all cargo - base modules, a power plant, an unpressurized lunar rover, tankers and a two-seater manned spacecraft - must be included in these "quanta" of masses.
The design of the manned lunar spacecraft is based on the use of the hulls of the descent vehicle and the Soyuz utility compartment. The ship lands on the lunar surface without fuel for Return trip- the stock required for the return must be delivered in advance by two tankers.
The possibility of "squeezing" a manned spacecraft, consisting of an SA, BO (the utility compartment also performs the function of an airlock) and a "lunar frigate" with landing supports, of 4.4-4.8 tons, raises doubts. It is clear that this will require a high "weight culture" and a new element base. However, recall: the mass of the maneuvering two-seat Gemini 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 disadvantages, has a number of advantages. The ship does not expect an expedition to return to 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 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 cargo, 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 near the Earth or the Moon, which means that the installation of a docking station and other systems for docking is not required. You can start to Earth almost at any time. And most importantly, all operations are carried out with reference to the base infrastructure, which avoids duplication (simultaneous construction of a station in orbit and a base on the surface).
The scheme with the landing of a heavy vehicle on the surface is not energetically optimal. The Luna Seven proposal also considered "classical" options for an expedition with a docking in the lunar orbit, but they require the creation of not only a separate light lunar spacecraft, but also a lunar takeoff and landing module, which greatly complicates the concept.
The Luna Seven V.2.0 version is also being considered, a version in which not a new spacecraft, but an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft, is used for flights to orbit around the Moon. In this case, a launch vehicle with a payload of about 40 tons in low-earth orbit or a multi-launch scheme with multiple docking will be required (which increases the cost of the program and increases the time before the start of the first flights).

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 the Malapert mountain, was chosen. It 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 sunlight 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 shaded craters near the site of the proposed base location, in which water ice lenses can be detected.

The calculation of the reserves of the base's life support system shows that with a moderate closure in water and oxygen (similar to that already achieved at orbital stations) for the work of a crew of two, it is enough to send one three-ton module with reserves per year (and when switching to partial use of local resources -- even less). As the base grows, the number of crew members will be increased to four, which means that two modules with cargo will need to be sent annually. These modules are docked to the base and, after using up the stocks, form additional living spaces.
The proposed scheme for the deployment, support and expansion of 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 to urgently create a lunar rover-crane for transportation.
The base of the first stage includes two residential modules with life support systems and cosmonaut cabins, a 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 communication satellite to a lunar orbit in one launch (after the base is deployed, communication in its vicinity can be provided using a repeater tower, however, at the initial stage, a satellite is required) and light automatic lunar rovers (2–3 pcs.) directly on the plateau of Mount Malapert. The rovers will finalize the deployment of the base, as well as install radio and light beacons to form a grid of coordinates that will help to accurately land 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. Subsequently, a layer of regolith with a thickness of about a meter is applied to the roof, after its opening, with the help of a ground gun. This variant of 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, the use of a roof reduces the amount of excavation required.
The proposal "Moon Seven" also considers in detail the unpressurized lunar rover of the base of the first stage, equipped with a detachable module with a jaw bucket. The assessment of the possibility of using one of the base modules as a sealed lunar rover has been carried out. The calculation of the solar power plant of the base has been made: the majority of its mass is made up of storage 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 that was already tested during the LADEE mission (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer). 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 radio communication channels will also be required.
The cost of creating the Luna Seven base of the first (two-man crew) and the second (four-man crew) stages, according to preliminary estimates, will amount to RUB 550 billion. The possible term for the implementation of the project is ten years from the beginning of the decision, of which five years is the actual 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 with more lifting capacity relative to the Angara-A5 - the deployment and supply scheme of the base changes.

With the acquisition of experience, new technologies for lunar construction begin to be introduced: inflatable domes, 3D printers for printing from regolith, special equipment for creating artificial caves.
The objectives of the project we proposed: to secure Russia one of the promising sites on the Moon, gain experience in building planetary bases and life on other planets in the shortest possible time, testing technologies and techniques 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 telecontrol of lunar rovers to the supply of matter and energy.

In conclusion, we note that the author did not set the task of opposing the proposal "Moon Seven" to the state program (strategy) for the exploration of the Moon. The goal is only to demonstrate that various options for such development are possible, including those not “going away” for the 2030s and 2040s.