Russia Plans To Start Building Lunar Base For Cosmonauts After 2030 - Roscosmos

Russia plans to start building a lunar base for cosmonauts after 2030 that will be used for short- and, eventually, long-term stays, Sergei Krikalev, the executive director of maned spaceflights at the Russian state space agency Roscosmos, said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2019) Russia plans to start building a lunar base for cosmonauts after 2030 that will be used for short- and, eventually, long-term stays, Sergei Krikalev, the executive director of maned spaceflights at the Russian state space agency Roscosmos, said.

"A [manned Russian] flight to the moon should happen by 2030. And after 2030 this base should start being built. I think this will be a small base initially, and only short visits will be held there, but then, I believe, people will be staying there for longer and longer periods of time," Krikalev said in a video that Roscosmos posted on its YouTube channel on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Roscosmos spokesman Vladimir Ustimenko said that the agency would soon send an expedition to the moon.

Meanwhile, the Russian Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIIMash) said in February that Russia's first-ever manned lunar mission was expected to land on the moon in 2031. TsNIIMash added that crew members would be practicing certain operations related to "cosmonauts' activities on the moon and perform tasks set by the Russian academy of Sciences.

TsNIIMash previously said that construction for the first Russian lunar base was set to begin in 2034 and continue in 2035.