What caused the excitement around the Moon and its South Pole, which poles are better for Russian spacecraft to land on, what tasks are facing Luna-26 and Luna-27 and what place robots can take in these missions — about this and much more, Pro Kosmos asked the academician, scientific director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Lev Zeleny, a member of the Roscosmos Public Council.
The search for life at the poles of the Moon
— Lev Matveyevich, for several years there has been a stir around the Moon and its South Pole in many countries. What is the reason for this? Why does humanity need the Moon?
— A difficult question. If we discard romantic walks under the Moon, sighs on the bench, then there are several reasons for such increased interest in her.
Can you answer the questions why we flew through the North Pole, why we explore Antarctica and descend into the Mariana Trench? It's not about romance. Humanity is exploring its planet. First, he studies the available continents, then rises higher and falls deeper… We flew into space for the same reason of the natural process of cognition.
Now it's the turn of the moon. This is new knowledge, new understanding and new resources. We still don't know when and how it was formed. There is no atmosphere on the Moon, and therefore it is probably possible to find a substance similar to the primary one, which has not been preserved on Earth. Therefore, the Moon plays a unique role in understanding the entire history of our cosmic home Earth.
The second reason is the poles of the moon. Today's ideas about the Moon are significantly different even from those that were quite recently. In the middle of the XX century, after the beginning of the space age, the Moon was considered an almost completely dry, "dead" celestial body. In the 21st century, territories with a significant amount of subsurface water ice were discovered in its polar regions.
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| The surface of the Moon. |
| Source: prokosmos.ru |
Where did this water come from? There is no clarity. It has not yet been brought to Earth and has not been examined in detail. Earthlings now have many plans to deliver soil from the polar regions in order to study the ratio of hydrogen isotopes to understand the source of water on the Moon. Since the water at the poles has been frozen for billions of years, it is possible that frozen organic substances have been preserved in the water ice. Their detection and determination of the structure of these organic molecules are very important for understanding the origin of life on Earth.
The third reason is the side of the moon, invisible from Earth. This is a good place to create sophisticated astrophysical laboratories to study cosmic radiation in different wavelength ranges, especially radio telescopes, since the Moon is a natural shield from electromagnetic radiation for the Earth's civilization.
The fourth reason. My colleagues and I analyzed the dynamics of changes in the needs of the Earth's industry for platinum and rare earth metals. According to our calculations, by the end of the XXI century there will be a severe shortage of these materials, and without them modern industry cannot develop. There are a lot of them on the moon. For billions of years, they have been deposited there by metallic asteroids, which, in addition to iron, contain many rare and rare earth metals. Asteroids do not burn up in the atmosphere, as when they fall to Earth, but when they collide with the Moon at speeds up to 12 km / s, they collapse and more than half of their mass remains on the surface, the rest of the substance is ejected into space. Part of the asteroid's remaining matter on the Moon is embedded shallowly into the ground and partially sprayed over the surface.
On the Moon, it is not necessary to dig mines or make deep pits to extract scarce metals. It remains to solve the scientific problem: among the millions of craters to find those that were formed from the fall of metal asteroids. Of course, their extraction is unprofitable now. But in 30-40 years, I think it will be enough. It is estimated that the amount of matter that falls on the Moon with one medium-sized metallic asteroid is capable of providing the Earth's industry with rare metals for several hundred years.
Thus, the availability of water reserves, the prospect of extracting the necessary metals and the possibility of conducting scientific research are the main driving forces of the complex and expensive expansion to the Moon, which began right before our eyes, literally in 2022-23.
"We must not stay away from the future of the moon cake"
— Why did the "expansion" stop in the mid-70s of the last century?
— In the last century, the achievement of the Moon was very strongly motivated by issues of state prestige. The cost of the lunar race between the USSR and the USA was enormous. As soon as the American astronauts landed on the moon, and we managed to get lunar soil for research with machine guns, the American side and the Soviet Union decided to stop this race. In addition, there is an opinion about the Moon as a dry and "dead" body. After all, water was not found in the lunar soil at that time.
It is clear to everyone that water is the main resource for the exploration of the Moon. Without water, it is impossible for a person to create stations on the Moon. It is impossible to transport all resources from the Ground.
When sufficiently large water reserves were discovered at the poles in the late twentieth and early twenty—first centuries, a range of possibilities arose for using water ice for human household needs, to obtain oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for power and propulsion systems. We realized that the Moon is much more complicated and interesting than it seemed then, and its industrial development may have good commercial prospects. So far, there is only a theoretical possibility of mining rare and rare earth metals, of which there are quite a lot on the Moon. That is why the Moon is now of such interest to many states and advanced, strategically minded commercial companies.
— There are issues of ownership, appropriation of the territories of the Moon. Who will it belong to?
— On June 18, 2024, another international conference was held in Vienna, at which this issue was raised again. A representative delegation of Roscosmos took part in it from Russia. The rules of the game were discussed.
It is clear that a business that is increasingly involved in the exploration of the Moon cannot invest a lot of money even in potentially promising projects if there is no guarantee that the investor will make a profit. Meanwhile, the modern legal framework is vague. The 1967 Space Law says that all resources in space are the property of all mankind. But this position contradicts reality. You can argue and wave your arms for a long time, but sitting on the Ground, commanding who, what territories and resources belong on the Moon is pointless. You have to fly, be a participant and a player in this new race.
Countries that fall behind may permanently lose access to potential resources. Therefore, coalitions for flights to the moon are being formed before our eyes. The Artemis coalition is gathering around the United States. China's coalition with Russia is also forming its own team. I hope Russia will take a worthy part in it. We must not stay away from the future mooncake.
Two "Moons-27"
— The first flight of a Russian spacecraft to the moon after 1976 was not entirely successful. What is the reason for the program not being executed?
— This expedition cannot be called completely unsuccessful. I was the head of the scientific program of this station, and our institute was responsible for the configuration of the mission, the complex of scientific equipment. Luna-25 has completed important flight stages: entering Earth orbit, flying to the Moon and entering circumpolar orbit, choosing a landing site, and starting descent. Before landing, we turned on all our instruments to check, and they all worked fine.
I have a photo of the Moon in my office, taken with Luna-25 optical cameras from about the same distance to the Earth and to the Moon. This means that these cameras would work on the surface of the moon.
Thus, the equipment was tested by starting vibrations, flight conditions, and the entire scientific complex worked normally. But it was not possible to land the station and use the devices for their intended purpose. It was a great tragedy for everyone, both scientists and engineers who worked on the project, because we had been creating the equipment for many years. In fact, the beginning of work on the modern lunar program, research of the Lunar polar regions can be attributed to 2011-2012.
It should be noted that landing on engines on a non—atmospheric body is a very difficult task. When landing on Venus and Mars, the main braking from the second cosmic velocity is carried out in the atmosphere of the planet, first with the help of a brake flap, then with parachutes. On the Moon, all this should be done only on engines.
We were very worried about this stage because one of the instruments for measuring altitude during landing had problems during ground tests. But we solved them before the start. So a soft landing on the surface is a critical stage of any lunar mission. We had to work on it too, but…
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| The moon is 25. |
| A source: NGO named after Lavochkin |
The braking impulse, which was given out by the engine of the device, turned out to be too strong. It was not turned off in time due to some trivial inconsistency in the operation of the two devices, which was not worked out on Earth. The braking impulse turned out to be too long, and the device, instead of flying around the Moon, flew along a closed trajectory and crashed into the surface, creating a small crater, which was then filmed by the Americans. The conclusion is this: we need to work everything out and work it out, and work it out on the Ground. The more, longer and more carefully the spacecraft is practiced, the more likely it is to succeed. In the future, I am sure we will not allow this.
— The S.A. Lavochkin NPO is creating an orbital Luna-26 and a landing Luna-27. What scientific instruments is the Space Research Institute developing for these stations?
— We are developing a fairly large set of devices for these stations. One of their main tasks at the orbital station is to study the electromagnetic environment of the Moon, as well as how the Moon interacts with the solar wind and solar radiation.
In addition, we will study the rather long dusty exosphere of the Moon. These are clouds of levitating dust that rise above the surface of the moon for various reasons. Some dust particles have such a high velocity that they enter the lunar orbit. Therefore, the Moon is surrounded by a kind of dust torus, and it is also planned to explore it.
But the main thing on the orbiter will be a complex set of optical instruments that will take pictures of the Moon's surface with high spatial resolution. Based on these images, detailed maps of possible landing sites for future Luna-27 stations will be created.
On Luna-26, we will continue the study of neutron fluxes from the Moon, which was conducted by a Russian instrument on board the American LRO spacecraft. It was the data from this device back in 2009 that quantitatively confirmed the idea of the presence of water at the poles. And, of course, we will study the dynamics of the spacecraft's movement around the Moon to map the features of the gravitational field, which has a very complex structure due to the presence of mascots (not to be confused with Masons, who are not yet on the Moon). These gravitational anomalies cause serious deviations in the trajectories of orbiting lunar vehicles from the usual Keplerian trajectories (that is, simple rotation around a heavy central mass).
We do not yet know the reasons for the appearance of such massive inclusions on the Moon. Perhaps they are caused by fragments of massive asteroids located below the surface, which once collided with the Moon. Other magnetic anomalies are also of interest for research by Luna-26. They partially cover the local zones of the lunar surface from direct interaction with the Solar wind, and regolith in these zones can acquire interesting specific properties.
Another task of Luna-26 is to relay data that will come from the next Luna-27 station, which is supposed to land on the Moon. The Luna-27 landing site will already have a very serious set of scientific equipment (compared to Luna-25). First of all, equipment for studying the properties and characteristics of lunar dust, which, unlike earth's, plays a very negative role for technology, and especially for people. We will study it, look for ways to combat the dust hazard.
Neutron detectors will no longer be used for global (as from orbit), but for local monitoring of surface water reserves. But still, the main experiment is the manipulator that we are doing. He will take soil samples and transfer them to devices for studying the elemental composition.
The station will have devices for studying electromagnetic fields not from orbit, but from the surface. A very important role will be played by a set of video cameras that will stand on this device. We plan to get a high-quality (high-resolution) panorama of the Moon and see all the features of the structure of its surface at the landing site. It is assumed that these images will help to select soil samples for research.
— Yuri Borisov announced at the Public Council that it is planned to create two Luna-27 type stations...
— After the accident of Luna-25, Roscosmos wanted to make Luna-27 again with simplified scientific equipment for practicing a soft landing. But the Academy of Sciences, after a detailed discussion of this issue, suggested that the State Corporation make two completely identical devices, which significantly reduces their cost. In addition, the ability to launch two similar vehicles doubles the probability of completing the mission task or, if successful, will double the research program by landing a second vehicle in another geological region of the Moon. And Roscosmos agreed.
The North is no worse than the South
— If you look at the activity of lunar exploration by other countries and the timing of our plans, it seems that we are still late for the South Pole?
— Yes, it is very likely that in 2028, in the area of the South Pole, the most interesting areas are where there is a good topology, where there are not hills and rifts (which you can no longer send as in the song to a well-known address), but relatively flat areas where there is good visibility of the Earth, sunlight, and, most importantly, areas where significant subsurface water ice reserves are likely to be explored and, accordingly, occupied if they are attractive.
But there is also the North Pole of the Moon, where water vapor has also been detected, although not in such large quantities, but it is there. And we made an offer to reorient from the South to the North Pole of the Moon, because technically it is not more difficult to land there.
And there are also suitable places for planting and research. We will be able to become the first explorers of the North Pole of the Moon. The North Pole gives us room for maneuver, and from the point of view of development resources, it is no worse. It is especially interesting for science to compare how the composition of the soil at the North Pole differs from the South Pole.
Therefore, we are coming up with the idea of sending the first Luna-27 spacecraft to the North Pole, and its understudy to the South Pole. In the optimal mode, we will land both on the North and on the South. This way we will ensure Russia's rights to territories promising for further development at both the North and South Poles.
This issue is currently being discussed. I am specifically talking about this because I think it is very important both from the point of view of politics and the future development of lunar exploration and exploration of the Moon.
I recently returned from South Korea, where I participated in the 45th General Assembly of COSPAR (Committee on Space Research at the International Council for Science). I have listened to many reports on American, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Korean ambitious plans not only for exploration, but also for the exploration of the Moon. The European Space Agency also woke up the other day, announcing the start of work on the Argonaut program. Five research vehicles are expected to land on the surface of the moon within the next decade. As a truthful old man, I must frankly say that it will not be easy for us to stay in the middle of this list.
An asymmetric answer is needed — not to catch up, but to find your own way. Russia's exploration of the North Pole of the Moon seems to provide such an opportunity. But we must not delay here either. Good ideas are bad because they are very often intercepted.
Will the robot DIMA be the first representative of Russia on the moon?
— Both "Luna-27" will study the ground on site. But it's more convenient to do this on Earth.
— The next one in the program is the Luna-28 expedition. The study of soil in terrestrial laboratories for geologists, for geochemists, is always, as they say, the ultimate truth. We plan to deliver lunar soil to Earth, but not as in Soviet times, but in a different way. In the 1970s, soil samples were taken by a drilling rig, while, as usual during drilling, the device was heated, the soil was also heated, and all volatile substances that could be in it, including water, evaporated and did not fall to the Ground.
We will perform "cryogenic drilling" on Luna-28. In this case, the soil will not heat up and there will be no evaporation of substances. The soil will then be delivered to the Ground in a thermostatically controlled capsule.
The hardware is currently being developed, but the deadline for the implementation of this project is once again being shifted to the very end of the 2020s, and most likely to the beginning of the 2030s. This is unacceptable, since we are not even talking about securing sites for development, but about scientific priority. The point is that by the early 2030s, the tasks of laboratory research of lunar polar regolith samples will already be solved by our "rival friends". Therefore, we are making possible and impossible efforts to speed up the process.
— Are there any acceleration options?
— We have an idea that seems fantastic so far: to integrate the exploration of the Moon by automata with the lunar manned program. Of course, this is a long-term prospect, but still, we already have to think about the flight of Russian cosmonauts to the Moon.
The idea is as follows: the first landing on the Moon of a manned spacecraft is probably planned in unmanned mode. At the same time, colleagues from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have been developing anthropomorphic robots for several years to participate in the World Robot Football Championship. These robots are moving and more than actively reacting to their surroundings.
And so the idea arose to put a robot of this type in the first manned lunar landing vehicle instead of astronauts, which will imitate a person not only in size and weight (as once "Ivan Ivanovich" before Gagarin's flight), but in many ways its movements and intellectual functions.
After landing on the Moon, the robot (let's call it DIMA) will come out of the device on a ladder, collect various samples. Then he will put these samples into the lunar landing craft instead of himself, slam the door, sit down on the ground, and waving goodbye with his manipulator, take pictures of the departure of the device and then send these photos to Earth.
That is, instead of the anthropomorphic robot remaining on the Moon, we will deliver several tens of kilograms of lunar soil to Earth, which it will collect. Of course, the robot will be controlled by geologists from Earth, indicating which samples should be taken. This way two tasks will be solved at once. Development of a manned lunar landing craft, collection and delivery of lunar soil to Earth. So far, these tasks are developing on a completely different time scale. But we think that if the automatic soil delivery program is delayed, and the manned one, on the contrary, accelerates, then such a combination is quite possible.
— A couple of years ago, Roscosmos signed a green card with Chinese partners to create a base on the moon. Is there any prospect of our cooperation with China?
— Cooperation with China is very important for us. We have known our Chinese colleagues for a long time, but Russia used to act as a teacher in this cooperation. We shared our knowledge of "automatic cosmonautics" quite frankly with them. Those who are engaged in manned subjects participated in the training of Chinese taikonauts, but now the situation has changed. China has moved ahead in many ways.
I see great prospects for Russia in cooperation with China. It is important what role we will play in this cooperation. It depends on our own achievements. The accident of Luna 25 did not contribute to the level of our partnership. For example, we recently exchanged samples of lunar soil. We gave them a few grams extracted by Luna-16 in 1970 and stored all these years at the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and they gave us samples of soil extracted by ALS Chang 'e-5. It turned out that these soils have significantly different ages. Their comparison is very important for science. We are expecting Chinese colleagues at our annual symposium, which will be held in October.
The good news is that our Chinese colleagues have provided a place for our dust device on the Chang'e-7 spacecraft, as they are interested in our research on the harmfulness of lunar dust. The issue of supplying China with a stand-in for the device that died along with Luna-25 has been practically resolved.
As for the Lunar Base, research is currently being coordinated by automatic landing vehicles: in theory, we will land in close areas and exchange data. Cooperation in manned space exploration is also being discussed, but this is in the long term, and within the framework of the coalition that China is assembling.
All further cooperation will depend on how accurately and timely Russia fulfills its obligations. The role of a younger brother or a poor elderly relative is unworthy for our country.
Igor Marinin
