Space agency Roscosmos returns from the international Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway project, led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), marking the program as “pre-US-centric”.
On Monday, Doscry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, expressed concerns about Russia’s participation in the second phase of the NASA-led program, saying that the program does not put Roscosmos on a joint footing equivalent to the US group. In his Telegram channel, Rogozin recalled that the Russian space agency has rekindled its interest in the NASA-led program if the program were run more like the International Space Station (ISS). – with US and Russia maintaining dual control of the station and mission controls in Houston and Moscow.
Commenting on NASA’s plan for the lunar program, Rogozin said it was “an American project with limited external partners. We are not interested in this.”
The Gateway-Lunar Orbital Platform, also known as the Gateway, is a critical part of NASA’s Artemis program, where a trip to the moon is planned for 2024.
The Gateway is an integral part of NASA’s deep space exploration plans, along with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and the landing system that sends astronauts to the Moon. Gaining new experiences on and around the moon will prepare NASA to send the first humans to Mars in the coming years, and the Gateway will play a critical role in this process. It is designed as a destination for astronaut voyages and science expeditions, as well as a port for deep space transportation such as landings on the way to the lunar surface or a spacecraft embarking on nearby destinations. -outside the moon.
While the project is led by NASA, the Gateway is being developed, serviced and deployed in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and com -commerce partners.
Although Roscosmos formally announced their decision to enter the project, which is expected to be a stepping stone to the space exploration, and signed an agreement to build Deep Space Gateway together to NASA in 2017, so far Russia’s role in the mission has been limited to the provision of the last and smallest model.
Russia itself has extensive lunar exploration plans. Russia’s space agency plans to build a lunar base that will be used for large-scale astronomical and geophysical exploration, including bringing Russian astronauts to the lunar surface.
Roscosmos’ plan to send humans to the moon includes the construction of a new spacecraft called the Alliance by 2022. The first flight to the International Space Station is expected by 2023, and expect deep space flights for some time in the middle of the next decade. In 2029, crew flights to lunar orbit began, along with a flight test on a lunar lander and an inflatable lunar base model. Russia plans to send a manned mission to the moon by 2030.