{"id":88801,"date":"2025-08-23T01:03:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T01:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/88801\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T01:03:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T01:03:13","slug":"russia-delays-moon-and-venus-missions-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/88801\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia Delays Moon and Venus Missions Again"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"163\" data-end=\"420\">Russia has postponed its next missions to the Moon and Venus by at least a year, pushing their launches to 2028 and 2036, respectively, the head of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) <a href=\"https:\/\/iz.ru\/1940698\/andrei-korsunov\/cegodna-v-mire-razvoracivaetsa-gonka-za-osvoenie-luny\" title=\"announced\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>\u00a0Friday.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"422\" data-end=\"684\">The Luna-26 orbiter will search for suitable landing sites on the Moon, while the long-delayed Venera-D mission aims to study Venus\u2019s extreme conditions and search for signs of simple life, RAS president Gennady Krasnikov told the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"686\" data-end=\"1022\">Russia\u2019s state space agency Roscosmos has not yet confirmed the revised timeline.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"686\" data-end=\"1022\">Former Roscosmos chief Yury Borisov had earlier <a href=\"https:\/\/tass.com\/russia\/1659085?ref=jatan.space\" title=\"said\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a> Luna-26 would launch in 2027, with follow-up missions Luna-27 and Luna-28 slated for 2028 and 2030 or later. The Venus mission, previously <a href=\"https:\/\/interfax.com\/newsroom\/top-stories\/110489\/\" title=\"rescheduled\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">rescheduled<\/a> for the 2034-35 window, will now slip to 2036.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1024\" data-end=\"1463\">Krasnikov did not explain the delays, though RAS Space Research Institute director Lev Zeleny said in March that scientists were reluctant to \u201crush\u201d aerospace firm NPO Lavochkina, which is designing the orbiter, lander and aerostats for the missions.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tnews<br \/>\n\t\t<a data-id=\"in-article-block\" class=\"related-article__inner\" href=\"https:\/\/www.themoscowtimes.com\/2025\/08\/23\/russia-and-us-agree-to-extend-international-space-station-operations-to-2028\" title=\"Russia and U.S. Agree to Extend International Space Station Operations to 2028\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tRussia and U.S. Agree to Extend International Space Station Operations to 2028<br \/>\n\t\t\tRead more<br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1024\" data-end=\"1463\">Krasnikov added that Lavochkina is responsible for more than half the Luna program\u2019s equipment, and that \u201csignificant funds\u201d had been allocated to upgrade the company to meet deadlines.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1465\" data-end=\"1597\">President Vladimir Putin this year <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interfax-russia.ru\/military\/news_eng\/423985\" title=\"earmarked\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">earmarked<\/a> 4.4 trillion rubles ($54.6 billion) for Russia\u2019s national space program through 2036.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1599\" data-end=\"1988\">Russia\u2019s last lunar mission, Luna-25, crashed during a pre-landing maneuver in August 2023 after years of delays. The country last successfully landed a spacecraft on the Moon in 1976, before turning its focus to Venus exploration and the Mir space station.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1599\" data-end=\"1988\">The Soviet Union\u2019s Venera program remains the only one to have landed a probe on Venus, beginning with its first mission in 1970.<\/p>\n<p>A Message from The Moscow Times:<\/p>\n<p>Dear readers,<\/p>\n<p>We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia&#8217;s Prosecutor General&#8217;s Office has designated The Moscow Times as an &#8220;undesirable&#8221; organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a &#8220;foreign agent.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. 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