Luna-Glob 1 design takes shape

摘要

Russia's satellite and planetary probe specialist, the Lavo-chkin Association, has begun phase B design work as prime contractor for the country's Luna-Glob 1 orbiter mission that will take place in 2012. Luna-Glob 1, to be launched by a Samara Space Center Soyuz 2 rocket, is to be a 120kg (264lb) orbiter that will study the Moon's internal structure and look for mineral resources. It is the first of four missions planned before the creation of a fully robotic lunar base scheduled after 2015. A Luna-Glob 2 mission, which could also take place in 2012, will have a rover whose lander may become part of the International Lunar Network. The 58kg rover will go to the south pole, examine a crater and operate for up to a year. The next two missions, to be called Luna-Grount, will feature in 2014 an orbiter that arrives with a lander that carries a large rover capable of in-situ soil analysis and in 2015 a second lander with an ascent stage that returns samples.