Luna-Glob

This article or section documents a scheduled or expected spaceflight. Details may change as the launch date approaches or more information becomes available.

Luna-Glob is based on plans dating back to 1997. Due to financial problems, however, the project was put on hold only to be revived a few years later. Initially scheduled for launch in 2012,^[1] the mission has been brought forward twice, first to 2010 and then to 2009. However, as of late 2008, the plan is again to meet the original 2012 launch date.

Luna-Glob is the first of four missions planned before the creation of a fully robotic lunar base scheduled for after 2015.

[edit] Luna-Glob 1

Luna-Glob 1 is an unmanned mission to the Moon planned by Russia including an orbiter as well as a landing module with 12 ground penetrating sensors.^[2] The largest two of them will most likely be a reuse of sensors previously built for the canceled Japanese mission LUNAR-A.

Slated to be launched in 2012 by a Soyuz 2 rocket ^[3], Luna-Glob will first deploy a polar lander in South Pole-Aitken basin at the Moon's south pole,^[1] where it will search for signs of water ice. Furthermore, seismic experiments are planned, including the use of the 12 penetrators, which will slam into the lunar surface, as well as the polar lander, whereas all 13 units are equipped to detect seismic signals. These experiments are expected to help clarify the origin of Earth's moon whereas two of the penetrators are planned to land near the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 landing sites, taking advantage of seismic data gathered there from 1969 to 1974. The orbiter will carry the LORD astronomy payload, designed to study ultra-high-energy cosmic rays^[4].

[edit] Luna-Glob 2

A Luna-Glob 2^[5] mission, also planned for in 2012, will feature a 58 kg Polar Moon Rover and lander, as part of the International Lunar Network. This mission will land in Moon's south pole, examine a crater and operate for up to one year.

[edit] Luna-Grunt

The next two missions^[6] , to be called Luna-Grunt, will launch in 2014, featuring an orbiter and a lander. The lander carries a large 400 kg rover capable of in-situ soil analysis. Later, in 2015, a second lander with an 400 kg ascent stage will return up to 1 kg of surface and rock samples.

[edit] Robotic Lunar Base

The Lunny Poligon robotic lunar base ^[7][8] that follows Glob and Grount would be a "Robotic proving ground", consist of several components:

• solar power station,
• telecommunication station
• technological station
• scientific station
• long-range research rover
• landing and launch area
• orbiting satellite

This project is planned for 2020.

[edit] References

• Luna-Glob

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