Russia to build lunar excavators and cranes

The draft project of the Federal Space Program for the years 2016-2025 provides for the construction of elements of a lunar base elements and special equipment that will be required for the construction of infrastructure on the Moon. The works will begin in 2018, the Izvestia newspaper wrote.

The program includes projects to develop a ground-based complex, a prototype of a lunar base of the 1st stage consisting of four modules (residential, laboratory, energy, nodal modernized). This is necessary for the complex checking of architectural and technical solutions, the creation of prototypes for ground testing of robotic equipment for construction and ground works on the Moon. It is thus planned to build the base of the 1st stage consisting of a mobile manipulator crane, grader, excavator, cable layer, as well as a mobile robot for selenological reconnaissance of the area.

The funding of a number of research and development works on the construction of the lunar base is proposed to begin in 2018. Russian Space Agency Roskosmos asked for 10.370 billion rubles for the works before 2025.