Names Luna-Resurs Launch date 2021 (proposed) | Operator Roscosmos Rocket Soyuz | |
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Mission type | ||
Luna 27 (Luna-Resurs lander) is a planned lunar lander mission by the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) with collaboration by the European Space Agency (ESA) to send a lander to the South Pole–Aitken basin, an unexplored area of the Moon. The mission is a continuation of the Luna-Glob programme.
Mission
The purpose is to prospect for minerals, volatiles, and lunar water ice in permanently shadowed areas of the Moon and investigate the potential use of these natural resources. On the long term, they consider building a habitable base on the Moon's far side that would bring scientific and commercial benefits.
Europe's participation in the mission is due to receive final approval at a meeting of ministers in late 2016. If approved, Europe will contribute with the development of a new type of automated landing system, and will also be providing the 'PROSPECT' package, consisting of a drilling, sampling, sample handling, processing and analysis package. The percussion drill is designed to go down to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and collect cemented ice samples for an onboard miniaturised laboratory called ProSPA.
The lander mission was announced in November 2014 by Russia, who is planning the launch for 2020. Due to budget constraints, an unmanned lunar mission would be performed by 2025, while a manned Moon landing was postponed for 2029.