MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, Solntsev said that a manned lunar landing by Russian cosmonauts is planned for 2029, while a maiden flight of a new spacecraft made of composites specifically for moon missions is scheduled for 2021.
"We propose to implement a four-launches scheme for the initial phase of the flights to the moon. Then, having accumulated experience, we will move on to the super-heavy launch vehicle," Solntsev said as quoted by Russia's space agency Roscosmos on Facebook.
Solntsev added that the new Russian spacecraft, designed for a manned lunar landing, will be equipped exclusively with hardware components produced in Russia.
Russia also plans to land a research vessel, called Luna-25 (Moon-25) on the moon’s polar region in 2019. Russia’s lunar research project is currently undergoing Earth trials.
