Russia's moon spaceship

Aiming to create the first base on the surface of the moon, Russia has started building a spacecraft for manned Lunar missions with the first test scheduled in 2015 (unmanned), a move that is seen as a step toward the manned flight to mass. "The work has already started. The unmanned tests are scheduled in 2015, the first manned mission is planned in 2018," head of the Central Research Institute of Machine Building Gennady said.

He said, “These spaceships are designed to land on and lift off from the Moon, work as space tug boats and service modules for other space vehicles.  Roscosmos (Russian space agency) has planned the creation of a new manned transport system to conduct manned flights to the Moon and to service the vehicles in space”.

"It is necessary to determine the main direction of manned cosmonautics development. Current strategy envisages focusing on the manned flights to the Moon, including the creation of a base on its surface," he said.

Last week, head of the Lavochkin Scientific and Production Corp. Victor Khartov said Russia must "return to the Moon in 2015 in a Soviet style, to prove everyone and ourselves that we remember all the Soviet Union could do".