In "Roscosmos" named the reason for postponing the flights of cosmonauts to the Moon

The start of manned flights to the Moon of Russian cosmonauts is postponed due to financial constraints. This was announced on Thursday, November 28, by Oleg Gorshkov, advisor to the general director of Roscosmos.

"The timing of the start of manned flights to the Moon is being shifted to the right because of budget constraints on the creation of a super-heavy-class launch vehicle," he said at the session "Space and the Future: will space again become the locomotive of the country's scientific and technological development?" at the Congress of Young Scientists at Sirius.

Initially, the launch of manned programs to the Moon was planned for the 2030s.

In turn, as part of the unmanned program, the Luna-25 automatic interplanetary station was launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on August 11, 2023. The event was the first mission to the Earth's natural satellite in the history of modern Russia. It was later put on a flight trajectory to the Earth's satellite.

After reports of abnormal situations during the transition to the landing orbit, the station collided with the surface of the Moon and ceased to exist.

In April 2024, Anatoly Petrukovich, director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, speaking at a press conference in Izvestia, noted that the lunar program in the Russian Federation will be continued, and as a priority. The next spacecraft launches are scheduled for 2027 and 2028.

According to him, the Luna-26 (a lunar satellite that will map the Moon in different light ranges from orbit) and Luna-27 (a landing vehicle that will start the Russian lunar base) will be launched into space.