Russian long-term base on the Moon accommodates 12 people

The premises of the base are designed using the ideas of Soviet engineers of the 60-70s

^{Moonbase Concept 1984. Image: NASA / Dennis M. Davidson}

The construction of the lunar base remains one of the main strategic goals of the Russian cosmonautics for the coming decades, despite the difficult situation with the financing of the space industry and, in particular, the lunar program. According to current plans, the astronauts will be sent to the moon in the 2030s. At about this time, the US plans to build permanent bases there (the start of resource extraction on the Moon is planned after 2020 ), China (first flight after 2020 ), Japan ( after 2020 ) and the European Space Agency (after 2025 ).

Apparently, the main goal of creating a lunar base in each country is the extraction of helium-3 for thermonuclear energy. Helium-3 reserves on the moon are estimated at 1 million tons, which should be enough to meet the energy needs of humanity for more than 1000 years.

The project of the long-term lunar base is now being worked out in detail by the specialists of FSUE TsNIImash, the head organization of Roscosmos. Olga Zharova, spokesperson of the Central Scientific Research Institute of Machines, told some new details about the domestic project of the colonization of the Moon.
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Why do we need a moon base

First, for scientists, the lunar base is a unique place for conducting scientific experiments in the field of planetology, astronomy, cosmology, space biology, and other disciplines. The study of the lunar crust is important to study the evolution of the solar system, the emergence of life.

The absence of the atmosphere allows building optical and radio telescopes on the lunar surface, capable of obtaining much more detailed images than is possible with terrestrial telescopes. Building such telescopes is cheaper than deploying space observatories such as the Hubble. In addition, they are much easier to maintain and upgrade.

The lunar base can be used as a transit point for interplanetary and interstellar space missions and as a space port.


^{Moonbase with electromagnetic catapult. Concept 1977. Image: NASA}

Another important reason for the colonization of the Moon is the presence of minerals on the Moon, the reserves of which on Earth are coming to an end (helium-3) or the delivery of which to orbit is too expensive (iron, aluminum, titanium). On the moon found deposits of water ice - a source of water, oxygen, hydrogen. In some cases it is easier to use lunar material than to deliver it from Earth.

Russian experts assumed that it would be the extraction of helium-3 that would become the main part of the Russian lunar program. This was mentioned, in particular, by the head of RSC Energia, Nikolay Sevastyanov (see the article “ By 2015, Russia will create a station on the Moon ”).

“We plan to create a permanent station on the moon by 2015, and from 2020 industrial mining on the Earth’s satellite of a rare isotope, helium-3, may begin,” Nikolai Sevastyanov said ten years ago.

According to experts, the Moon contains at least 1 million tons of helium-3, which will fully provide the thermonuclear energy of mankind for a period of more than 1000 years. Now, to provide the entire population of the Earth during the year, approximately 30 tons of helium-3 are needed. The production of helium-3 and the transition to thermonuclear energy is especially important given the fact that hydrocarbons remain on Earth for about 50-90 years (in Russia - for 77 years, in China - for 14 years), if you believe the organic theory of the origin of oil on the presence of biomarkers in hydrocarbons.

Interestingly, the list of the world's main oil importers - the USA, China and Japan - coincides with the list of countries that were the first to announce the construction of permanent bases on the moon.

Some experts believe that the conditions of vacuum and cheap solar energy make it possible to use the lunar surface for the construction of large automated factories for the production of electronics, as well as for metallurgy: the earth's atmosphere severely affects the quality of casting and welding and makes it impossible to produce ultra-pure alloys and chip substrates in large volumes.

It is also reasonable to transfer harmful and dangerous production from Earth to the Moon.

How will the delivery of the first astronauts to the moon

According to the plans of 2006, the installation of the first lunar base structures in orbit was planned to be entrusted to the crew of the International Space Station consisting of six people. The delivery of cosmonauts and cargoes was to be undertaken by a new reusable ship, the Clipper, whose commissioning was scheduled for 2015.

At RSC Energia, the Clipper manned spacecraft and the Parom inter-orbital tugboat were developed, which together form a reusable cargo-transport space complex for the industrial exploration of the Moon.

On April 12, 2016, the scientific and technical council of Roscosmos approved the design of the Angara A5B heavy class launch vehicle with a payload capacity of 38 tons of payload during the launch into low-Earth orbit (200 km).

It is the “Angara A5B” that will be used to lift the lunar landing module, interorbital tugboats, and spacecraft with a crew.



As reported in April, the Russian expedition will be held in four stages:

1. Launch of the lunar landing module and inter-orbital tug.
2. The launch of the second inter-orbital tug into orbit (it is attached to the landing module and is sent to the Moon).
3. Launch of the main spacecraft with the crew into orbit.
4. Launch of the third inter-orbital tug into orbit.

Before the start of the mission a number of tests are planned:

1. Unmanned test launch of the new Federation spacecraft.
2. Flight of a spacecraft with a crew into the orbit of the moon.
3. Flight to the lunar orbit with the lunar take-off and landing complex (LVPC) with sending it to the lunar surface without a crew.

To carry out test launches of the Angara A5B and a manned expedition to the moon, they are now preparing the Vostochny cosmodrome .

Russian project of the lunar base

The project of a long-term lunar base was originally developed in the USSR in the General Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau under the leadership of Vladimir Barmin in the late 1960s and early 1970s as the development of a program for the exploration of the Moon using the H1 launch vehicle of the Central Design Bureau of Experimental Engineering (TsKBEM, now it is RKK Energy ”), said Olga Zharova from Federal State Unitary Enterprise TsNIIMash.

The new project of colonization of the moon "Roscosmos" sent to the government of the Russian Federation in December 2014. According to this project, which is painted until 2050, the exploration of the moon will begin with the creation of an outpost, which will include an energy installation, a life support module and an experimental laboratory module, as well as a set of vehicles — lunar rovers and lunolets. The first 20 years of the expedition to the moon will build and assemble elements of the infrastructure and maintain the existing systems. In addition, in the vicinity of the base is proposed to deploy an astronomical laboratory.

In 2016, experts adjusted the plan of the lunar program. Under the new schedule , the delivery of Russian astronauts to the moon will take place around 2030-2035.

RSC Energia and TsNIIMash continue to design the lunar base. Now some key parameters of the base are identified. It was decided that at the initial stage the number of crew members will not exceed 2-4 people, and at later stages it may reach 10-12 people. According to calculations of TsNIImash , with four crew members and an expedition duration of 30 days, the minimum habitable volume of the base is 20 cu. For the crew’s vigorous activity, the infrastructure must be on the surface of the moon. Radiation shelters, power installations, etc. can be created under the surface of the moon.

The place for the construction of the lunar base has not yet been chosen. Most of the proposals in favor of locating the base in the vicinity of the South Pole of the Moon, said the representative of TsNIImash.

In the detailed elaboration of the lunar base plan, the projects prepared by the USSR research teams in the 60-70s are actively used, said Olga Zharova. For example, approximately in the same form come from living quarters. One of the projects of Soviet engineers is set out in the document “ Report on the creation of lunar stations and engineering building vehicles ”. The report was released in 1968, approved by his successor S.P. Koroleva, Vasily Pavlovich Mishin, who was the first deputy for the last 20 years (1946-1966) Queen in the OKB-1, and in 1968 was the chief designer of the Central Design Bureau of Experimental Engineering (TsKBEM).


^{Drawing of the Burrowing Moon Station, USSR, 1968}

Among other things, the document describes in detail the Moon Engineering Machine (p. 10-28), the Burrowing Moon Station (p. 29-31) and variants of the Lunar Building Combines (p. 32-39). In TsNIIMash explained that the draft design of the lunar construction equipment has already been created, prepared their 3D-models.


^{Figure one of the variants of the Lunar Construction Combine, USSR, 1968}

Colonization of the Moon, and then Mars - very interesting scientific projects. The question is only in details: which country will be the first to build a base, who exactly will send the first crew to Mars: will it be a state space agency or a private company. But in any case, the colonization of the Moon and Mars is likely to begin during the life of the current generation. Many of us are lucky enough to witness these historical events.