Make no Mistake, Russia is World Leader in Space - Mars Now the Next Goal of Russian Scientists

Russia and the world celebrate Cosmonautics Day. It's been over 50 years since the first space mission.

Russia and the world celebrate Cosmonautics Day. It's been over 50 years since the first space mission. Our country is still the leader in this field. However, we don't intend to stop there. Moon exploration, tourist flights in spacesuits, and other things are ahead.

Alyona Logvinova will tell us what unexplored planet Russia plans to get to.

 

Russia was the first to conquer space. Decades have passed since then. This century's global goal is to send a man to Mars and to further explore the Moon.

 In our country, one task will be completed with the help of another. An unmanned mission to the Moon is scheduled for next year. It will involve an automated station which was developed in cooperation with the European Space Agency. In a few years, manned missions with landings on the lunar poles can be expected. This experience will be helpful in colonizing Mars. Take-off, landing, and radiation protection are the necessary skills.

Igor Komarov, Roscosmos CEO: "There's a step-by-step sequence, from easy to hard, from simple and proven to more technologically advanced things that have yet to be developed. Taking baby steps is a logic we can understand, we do that in most areas of life. We can see that about a year ago they decided on the Moon. Well, Mars will be the first step, but the Moon is the end goal".

 It'll take about 3 days to get to the Moon and about 6 months to the red planet. That's why landing on Mars will occur later. First, after the planet is thoroughly explored, Russia will send several missions with equipment. Recently, successful tests have been conducted on a new parachute which will help to get scientific equipment onto the Martian surface. Many people want to fly towards the stars, and soon these dreams will come true. Russia is focused on developing space tourism.

The first flights are expected by 2025. By 2030, they plan to send 700 people there annually. The ticket price will be $200,000. The price includes a 15-minute flight, 5 minutes of which will be in zero-g. What's important is that there's minimal participation of foreigners in the project. Rockets will be manufactured in Russia almost without any imported parts. The rocket launch site is in the central part of Russia. About $200,000,000 has been invested in the project.

Pavel Pushkin, KosmoKurs CEO: "Our zero-g flight time is about 1.5 times longer. The flight altitude is 2 times higher. The tourist capsule's capacity is 2 times bigger. The price will be the same, which gives us a competitive advantage that we'll take to the market. We have a 1-week operating cycle, and 2 rockets will be used at the same time. One will be flying while the other one is prepared, then they will switch. So, they won't fly simultaneously".

Once you come down to earth, you'll see that breakthroughs made in space can be used here, too. Remote sensing technologies are being developed in Russia. At the beginning of the month, they were introduced in Latin America, where they piqued a lot of interest.

Vyacheslav Butin, Terra Tech Deputy CEO: "We'll receive timely, objective information about the environment from space, including the status of soil, water, forest reserves, and the state of agricultural lands. People will be able to resolve their issues faster and make better, more informed decisions. Issues like preventing ecological collapse and environmental damage, or preventing problems related to military technology, or preventing some natural disaster".

Outer space is an expensive industry, but it becomes more lucrative each year. By 2025, the commercialization of the ISS should pay for half its maintenance costs. By the way, right now Russia is the only country that takes astronauts to the ISS.

Alyona Logvinova, Vesti.