Roscosmos
The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...
. In addition to its scientific role, the Luna 26 orbiter would also function as a telecomm relay between
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
and Russian landed assets.Luna-Glob Orbiter (Luna-Glob 2/Luna 26 Anatoly Zak, ''RussianSpaceWeb.com'' 10 October 2014 This mission was announced in November 2014, and its launch is planned for 2024 on a Soyuz-2.1b
launch vehicle
A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and ...
.
Overview
The Luna 26 orbiter mission has been in planning since at least 2011. Originally it was envisioned to be launched to the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
together with the lunar lander
Luna 27
Luna 27 (Luna-Resurs 1 lander or Luna-Resource-1 lander)
, but because of mass limitations, they will be launched separately. The orbiter's mass is about 2100 kg.
The objective of the orbiter is to locate and quantify natural
lunar resources
The Moon bears substantial natural resources which could be exploited in the future. Potential lunar resources may encompass processable materials such as volatiles and minerals, along with geologic structures such as lava tubes that together, ...
that can be exploited by future landed missions. After completion of its primary mission, the spacecraft's orbit will be raised to about 500 km altitude to study
cosmic rays
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our ow ...
Luna-Glob
Luna-Glob (russian: Луна-Глоб, meaning ''Lunar sphere'') is a Moon exploration programme by Roscosmos meant to progress toward the creation of a fully robotic lunar base. When completed, the programme will continue with crewed lunar miss ...
missions in the manner of communications, precision landing, hazard avoidance, drilling, sampling, sample analysis and ground support. ESA cooperation with Russia on Luna 26 was discontinued on 13 April 2022 as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As of October 2017, the U.S. space agency
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
was negotiating and assessing a potential collaboration with the
Luna-Glob
Luna-Glob (russian: Луна-Глоб, meaning ''Lunar sphere'') is a Moon exploration programme by Roscosmos meant to progress toward the creation of a fully robotic lunar base. When completed, the programme will continue with crewed lunar miss ...
missions
Luna 25
Luna 25 (Luna-Glob lander) is a planned lunar lander mission by Roscosmos. It will land near the lunar south pole at the Boguslavsky crater. It was renamed from Luna-Glob lander to Luna 25 to emphasize the continuity of the Soviet Luna program ...
through Luna 28.
In September 2019, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Roscosmos signed two agreements on scientific cooperation and coordination between Luna 26 and the upcoming
Chang'e 7
Chang'e 7 () is a planned robotic China, Chinese lunar exploration mission expected to be launched in 2026 to target the lunar south pole. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. The mission will inc ...
lunar polar orbiter.
Scientific payload
The scientific payload on board the orbiter is composed of fourteen instruments that will be fabricated by
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
and by some European partners. The payload will study the lunar surface and the environment around the Moon, including the
solar wind
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, called the corona. This plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between . The composition of the sol ...
, and high-energy
cosmic rays
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our ow ...
. The orbiter may carry some NASA instruments, or instruments from private U.S. companies. Luna 26 will also scout sites for the planned
Luna 27
Luna 27 (Luna-Resurs 1 lander or Luna-Resource-1 lander)
See also
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Exploration of the Moon
The physical exploration of the Moon began when ''Luna 2'', a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of exploration had been observation ...