Russia to Launch Lunar Mission in 2015

Russia has started building a spacecraft for manned lunar missions with the first test scheduled for 2015, head of the Russian Central Research Institute of Machine Building Gennady Raikunov told reporters earlier this year.

Russia's Energia Rocket and Space Corporation said it planned to build a carrier rocket of the super-heavy class capable of delivering a manned transport complex to the Moon in three or four years.

The Russian space strategy presented by the federal space agency Roscosmos until 2030 regards the Moon missions as a step toward the manned flight to Mars.

According to Khartov, the Lavochkin Association will cooperate with the European Space Agency on an exobiology program on Mars, with Russian companies planning to build the landing system for the program's second mission scheduled for 2018. (Xinhua-ANI)