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Luna 26 (Luna-Resurs-Orbiter
program, by
Roscosmos
The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a State corporation (Russia), state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space science, space flights, List of space agencies, c ...
. 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 Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
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 2027 on a
Soyuz-2.1b
Soyuz2 (; GRAU index: 14A14) is a Russian expendable medium-lift launch vehicle and the seventh major iteration of the Soyuz rocket family. Compared to its predecessors, Soyuz-2 features significant upgrades, including improved engines and ...
launch vehicle
A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...
.
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 Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
together with the lunar lander Luna 27
Luna 27 (Luna-Resurs 1 lander or Luna-Resource-1 lander) ,[ The orbiter's mass is about 2100 kg.][
The objective of the orbiter is to locate and quantify natural ]lunar resources
An artificially colored mosaic constructed from a series of 53 images taken through three spectral filters by ''Galileo's'' imaging system as the spacecraft flew over the northern regions of the Moon on 7 December 1992. The colors indicate d ...
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 or astroparticles 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 ...
.
International collaboration
The European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...
(ESA) had intended to contribute to this and other Luna-Glob
Luna-Glob (, 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 is intended to continue with crewed lunar missions, starting ...
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 federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
was negotiating and assessing a potential collaboration with the Luna-Glob
Luna-Glob (, 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 is intended to continue with crewed lunar missions, starting ...
missions Luna 25
Luna 25 (or Luna-25; ) was a failed Russian lunar lander mission by Roscosmos in August 2023 that planned to land near the lunar south pole, in the vicinity of the crater Boguslawsky (crater), Boguslawsky.
Initially called the Luna-Glob lander ...
through Luna 28
Luna 28 (Luna Resource 2 or Luna-Grunt rover) is a proposed sample-return mission from the south polar region of the Moon.China National Space Administration
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is a government agency of the People's Republic of China headquartered in Haidian District, Haidian, Beijing, responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation. These ...
(CNSA) and Roscosmos signed two agreements on scientific cooperation and coordination between Luna 26 and the upcoming Chang'e 7 lunar polar orbiter.
Scientific payload
The scientific payload on board the orbiter is composed of fourteen instruments[ that will be fabricated by Russia 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 Sun's outermost atmospheric layer, the Stellar corona, corona. This Plasma (physics), plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy betwee ...
, and high-energy cosmic rays
Cosmic rays or astroparticles 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 ...
.[ In 2017, the possibility to carry some NASA instruments was discussed.]Luna 27
Luna 27 (Luna-Resurs 1 lander or Luna-Resource-1 lander)
Luna-27, The Pla ...
. However, there is still a chance that Luna 26 as it exists is scrapped in favor of another attempt at the Luna 25 lander. Regardless, the loss of Luna 25 will delay the Luna 26 mission in whatever form it takes.
See also
* Exploration of the Moon
The physical exploration of the Moon began when ''Luna 2'', a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made a deliberate impact on the surface of the Moon on 14 September, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of lunar exploration had ...
References
{{Future spaceflights
Missions to the Moon
Russian space probes
Russian lunar exploration program
2020s in Russia
2027 in spaceflight
Proposed space probes