Luna 26

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Luna 26
300px
Maquette of Luna-26 Moon orbiter
Names Luna-Resurs-Orbiter
Luna-Resurs O
Mission type Lunar reconnaissance
Operator Roscosmos
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type Luna
Launch mass 2,100 kg (4,600 lb) [1]
Start of mission
Launch date 2024 (planned)[2]
Rocket Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat
Launch site Vostochny Site 1S
Contractor Roscosmos
Orbital parameters
Reference system Selenocentric orbit
Regime Polar orbit
Periselene 80 km
Aposelene 50 km
Moon orbiter
----
Luna-Glob programme
← Luna 25 Luna 27 →

Luna 26 (Luna-Resurs-Orbiter [3] or Luna-Resurs O [4]) is a planned lunar polar orbiter, part of the Luna-Glob program, by Roscosmos. In addition to its scientific role, the Luna 26 orbiter would also function as a telecomm relay between Earth and Russian landed assets.[1] This mission was announced in November 2014, and its launch is planned for 2024 on a Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle.[2]

Overview

The Luna 26 orbiter mission has been in planning since at least 2011.[1] Originally it was envisioned to be launched to the Moon together with the lunar lander Luna 27 which will land on the South Pole–Aitken basin, an unexplored area on the far side of the Moon,[5][4][6] but because of mass limitations, they will be launched separately.[1] The orbiter's mass is about 2100 kg.[1]

The objective of the orbiter is to locate and quantify natural lunar resources that can be exploited by future landed missions.[7] After completion of its primary mission, the spacecraft's orbit will be raised to about 500 km altitude to study cosmic rays.[3]

International collaboration

The European Space Agency (ESA) had intended to contribute to this and other Luna-Glob missions in the manner of communications, precision landing, hazard avoidance, drilling, sampling, sample analysis and ground support.[8][9] ESA cooperation with Russia on Luna 26 was discontinued on 13 April 2022 as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[10]

As of October 2017, the U.S. space agency NASA was negotiating and assessing a potential collaboration with the Luna-Glob missions Luna 25 through Luna 28.[11]

In September 2019, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Roscosmos signed two agreements on scientific cooperation and coordination between Luna 26 and the upcoming Chang'e 7 lunar polar orbiter.[12]

Scientific payload

The scientific payload on board the orbiter is composed of fourteen instruments [1] that will be fabricated by Russia and by some European partners.[1] The payload will study the lunar surface and the environment around the Moon, including the solar wind, and high-energy cosmic rays.[1] The orbiter may carry some NASA instruments, or instruments from private U.S. companies.[11] Luna 26 will also scout sites for the planned Luna 27 landing mission.[13]

See also

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Luna-Glob Orbiter (Luna-Glob 2/Luna 26 Anatoly Zak, RussianSpaceWeb.com 10 October 2014
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Russian Moon exploration program Russian Research Institute (IKI) 2017
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Sources of materials at the three high-priority landing sites of the Luna-Glob mission M. A. Ivanov, A. M. Abdrakhimov, A. T. Basilevsky, N. E. Demidov, E. N. Guseva, J. W. Head, H. Hiesinger, A. A. Kohanov, S. S. Krasilnikov; The Eighth Moscow Solar System Symposium, 2017
  8. ↑ Exploring and Using Lunar Polar Volatiles International Strategic Coordination Published by NASA  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ↑ "Luna-Glob" and "Luna-Resurs": science goals, payload and status Mitrofanov, Igor; Dolgopolov, Vladimir; Khartov, Viktor; Lukjanchikov, Alexandr; Tret'yakov, Vlad; Zelenyi, Lev; Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 16, EGU2014-6696, EGU General Assembly 2014
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ The "Simplest Satellite" That Opened up the Universe Zelenyi, Lev; Zakutnyaya, Olga; American Scientist; Research Triangle Park, Vol. 105, Issue 5, (September/October 2017): 282-289
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