Russia Postpones Manned Moon Mission for 5 Years

Russian space agency Roscosmos has postponed the first manned lunar mission from 2030 to 2035, according to the 2016-2025 space program unveiled Wednesday.

Russia initially planned to launch a manned aircraft to the moon atop an Angara heavy rocket carrier from its Vostochny space port in 2025. The earlier version of the state space program – worth some 2 trillion rubles ($25 billion) – specified that the creation of a heavy carrier rocket would allow for a manned lunar landing by 2030.

But the new edition, which had it budget trimmed down to 1.4 trillion rubles, plans to start setting aside funds to put a man on the moon after 2035.

Reports transpired in Russian media last month claiming that Roscosmos had dropped its lunar program in light of the huge expenses. But Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said later the rumors were greatly exaggerated.