In the space industry, the eternal dispute between physicists and lyricists was transformed in the 21st century into a debate about what is more important for humanity - automatic or manned astronautics?
Proponents of "automation" appeal to the relatively low costs of creating and launching devices, which are of great benefit both for fundamental science and for solving applied problems on Earth. And their opponents, dreaming of the time when "our traces will remain on the dusty paths of distant planets", argue that the exploration of outer space is impossible and inexpedient without human activity.
Where are we going to fly?
In Russia, this discussion has a very serious financial background. It's not a secret for anyone that the budget of the national cosmonautics is much less compared not only with the United States and Europe, but also with such a relatively young member of the space club as China. And the directions in which the industry is called upon to work in our country are many: in addition to participating in the International Space Station (ISS) program, this is the global navigation satellite system GLONASS, and communication satellites, remote sensing of the Earth, meteorological, scientific spacecraft, not to mention about military and dual-use. So we have to share this financial "trishkin caftan" so as not to offend anyone (although in the end everyone turns out to be offended anyway, since the allocated funds for the normal development of the industry are clearly not enough).
Recently, the head of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) Vladimir Popovkin said that the share of manned astronautics in the budget of his department is very large (48%) and it should be reduced to 30%. At the same time, he clarified that Russia will strictly abide by its obligations under the ISS program (after the termination of shuttle flights this year, the delivery of crews to orbit is provided only by the Russian Soyuz spacecraft). What then are we going to save on? On scientific research or on promising developments? To answer this question, it is necessary to understand the development strategy of domestic manned astronautics for the coming decades.
According to Nikolai Panichkin, First Deputy General Director of TsNIIMash (who acted as the mouthpiece of the head scientific and expert institute of Roscosmos), today it is wrong to count space activities for 10-15 years: “The tasks of fundamental research in deep space, the exploration of the Moon and Mars are so daunting. that it is necessary to plan for at least 50 years. The Chinese are trying to look ahead for a hundred years."
So where are we going to fly in the near future - to near-earth orbit, to the moon or to Mars?
Seventh part of the world
The patriarch of the space industry, the closest associate of the brilliant designer Sergei Korolyov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Boris Chertok is convinced that the main task of the world cosmonautics should be the joining of the Moon to the Earth. At the opening of the planetary congress of space flight participants, which took place in Moscow in early September, he said: "Just as we have Europe, Asia, South and North America, Australia, there must be another part of the world - the Moon."
Today, many countries, primarily the United States and China, are talking about their ambitions for the Earth's satellite. Nikolai Panichkin asserts: “When the question of what came first - the Moon or Mars was decided, there were different opinions. Our institute believes that, nevertheless, setting a distant goal - Mars, we must go through the Moon. On it, a lot of things have not yet been explored. On the moon, it is possible to create bases for conducting research in deep space, to develop technologies for a flight to Mars. Therefore, planning to conduct a manned flight to this planet by 2045, we must establish outposts on the Moon by 2030. And in the period from 2030 to 2040, create the basis for large-scale exploration of the Moon with bases and research laboratories."
The first deputy general director of TsNIIMash believes that when implementing lunar projects, the idea of creating a food and fuel warehouse in low-earth orbit deserves attention. On the ISS, this is unlikely to be implemented, since the station should cease operation around 2020. And large-scale lunar expeditions will begin after 2020. And one more important aspect is highlighted by the Russian specialist: “When the institute proposes this strategy, we correlate it with similar strategic plans of China and America. Of course, the moon race must be peaceful. As is known, nuclear weapons cannot be tested and deployed in space. If in the near future cosmonauts, astronauts and taikonauts begin to settle down on the Moon, they should build housing there, scientific laboratories, enterprises for the extraction of valuable minerals, and not military bases."
The development of the natural resources of the moon is a priority task, many scientists are convinced. So, according to the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Erik Galimov, lunar minerals can save humanity from the global energy crisis. Tritium delivered to Earth from the celestial body closest to it can be used for thermonuclear fusion. In addition, it is very tempting to turn the Moon into an outpost for deep space exploration, a base for monitoring asteroid hazards, monitoring the development of critical situations on our planet.
The brightest (and controversial!) Idea is still the use of helium-3 available on the Moon, which is not on Earth. Its main advantage, says Galimov, is that it is "environmentally friendly fuel." Thus, the problem of radioactive waste disposal, which is the scourge of nuclear energy, disappears. According to the scientist's calculations, the annual need of all mankind for helium-3 in the future will be 100 tons. In order to get them, it is necessary to open a three-meter layer of lunar soil with an area of 75 by 60 kilometers. And, paradoxically, the entire cycle - from production to delivery to Earth - will cost about ten times less than the use of hydrocarbons (taking into account the existing oil prices).
“Western experts propose to build helium reactors directly on the Moon, which will further reduce the cost of generating clean energy,” the academician notes. The reserves of helium-3 on the Moon are enormous - about one million tons: enough for all mankind for more than a thousand years.
But in order to start mining helium-3 on the Moon in 15–20 years, it is necessary to start geological exploration now, mapping the areas enriched and exposed to the Sun, and create pilot engineering installations, Galimov says. There are no complex engineering tasks for the implementation of this program, the only question is investment. The benefits from them are obvious. One ton of helium-3 in energy equivalent is equal to 20 million tons of oil, that is, at current prices, it costs more than $ 20 billion. And the transportation costs for the delivery of one ton to the Earth will amount to only $ 20-40 million. According to specialists' calculations, to meet the needs of Russia, the power industry will need 20 tons of helium-3 per year, and for the entire Earth - ten times more. One ton of helium-3 is enough for an annual operation of a 10 GW (10 million kW) power plant. To extract one ton of helium-3 on the Moon, it will be necessary to open and process a site three meters deep on an area of 10-15 square kilometers. According to experts, the cost of the project is $ 25-35 billion.
The idea of using helium-3, however, has opponents. Their main argument is that before creating bases for the extraction of this element on the Moon and investing considerable funds in the project, it is necessary to establish thermonuclear fusion on Earth on an industrial scale, which has not yet been possible.
Russian projects
Be that as it may, technically, the task of turning the moon into a source of minerals can be solved in the coming years, Russian scientists are convinced. Thus, several leading domestic enterprises announced their readiness and specific plans for the development of an Earth satellite.
Automata should be the first to "colonize" the Moon, according to the Lavochkin Scientific and Production Association, the leading Russian NGO in the field of space exploration with the help of automatic vehicles. There, together with China, a project is being developed that is designed to lay the foundation for the industrial development of the moon.
According to the specialists of the enterprise, first of all, it is necessary to investigate a celestial body using automatic means and create a lunar test site, which in the future will become an element of a large inhabited base. It should include a mobile complex of light and heavy lunar rovers, telecommunications, astrophysical and landing complexes, large antennas and some other elements. In addition, it is planned to form a constellation of spacecraft in a near-lunar orbit for communication and remote sensing of the surface.
The project is planned to be implemented in three stages. First, with the help of light vehicles, select the optimal regions on the Moon for solving the most interesting scientific and applied problems, then deploy the orbital constellation. At the final stage, heavy lunar rovers will go to the Earth's satellite, which will determine the most interesting points for landing and soil sampling.
The conceived, in the opinion of the project developers, will not require very large investments, since light conversion launch vehicles of the Rokot or Zenit type can be used to launch vehicles (except for heavy lunar rovers).
The head Russian manned space company, the SP Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation (RSC) Energia, is ready to take up the baton of the lunar exploration. According to its specialists, the ISS will play an important role in the creation of the lunar base, which should eventually turn into an international spaceport. Even if after 2020 the partner countries in the ISS program decide not to extend its operation anymore, it is planned to build a platform on the basis of the Russian segment for assembling the structures of the future lunar base in orbit.
To deliver people and cargo into orbit, a promising transport system is being developed, which will consist of a base spacecraft and several of its modifications. The basic version is a new generation manned transport ship. It is designed to service orbital stations - to send crews and cargo to them with subsequent return to Earth, as well as to be used as a rescue ship.
The new manned system is fundamentally different from the existing Soyuz spacecraft, primarily in terms of new technologies. The promising ship will be built according to the Lego design principle (that is, according to the modular principle). If flights to a near-earth orbit are required, a spacecraft will be used to provide quick access to the station. If the tasks become more complicated and flights outside the near-earth space are required, the complex can be retrofitted with a utility compartment with the ability to return to Earth.
Energia expects that the spacecraft modifications will make it possible to make expeditions to the Moon, maintain and repair satellites, carry out long - up to a month - autonomous flights in order to conduct various research and experiments, as well as the delivery and return of an increased amount of cargo in an unmanned cargo returnable version. The system reduces the workload on the crew, moreover, due to the parachute-jet landing system, the landing accuracy will be only two kilometers.
According to the plans laid down in the Federal Space Program until 2020, the first launch of the new manned spacecraft is to take place in 2018 from the Vostochny cosmodrome, which is being built in the Amur Region.
If Russia at the state level nevertheless decides to develop minerals on the Moon, Energia will be able to provide a single reusable transport and cargo space complex serving the industrial development of a celestial body. Thus, the new ship (which has not yet received its official name), which will replace Soyuz, together with the interorbital tug Parom developed by RKK, will provide transportation of up to 10 tons of cargo, which will significantly reduce transport costs. As a result, Russia will also be able to provide commercial services for sending various cargoes into space, including bulky ones.
Parom is a spacecraft that will be launched by a launch vehicle into low-earth orbit (about 200 km altitude). Then, another launch vehicle will deliver a container with cargo to a given point on it. The tug docks with it and moves it to its destination, for example, to an orbital station. It is possible to launch a container into orbit with almost any domestic or foreign carrier.
However, with the currently existing funding for the space industry, the creation of a lunar base and the industrial development of an Earth satellite are projects of a rather distant future. The plans for flights to the moon by tourists using modified Soyuz spacecraft seem much more realistic, according to Roskosmos. Together with the American company Space Adventures, the Russian department is developing a new tourist route in space, and it plans to send earthlings on a sightseeing tour around the moon in five years.
Another well-known domestic company, the Khrunichev State Space Research and Production Center (GKNPTs), is also ready to contribute to the development of a celestial body. According to the specialists of the State Space Research Center, the lunar program should be preceded by the first, near-Earth stage, which will be implemented using the ISS experience. On the basis of the station, after 2020, it is planned to create an orbital manned assembly and operational complex for future expeditions to other planets, as well as, possibly, tourist complexes.
The lunar program, according to scientists, should not repeat what has already been done in the last century. It is planned to create a permanent station in the orbit of an Earth satellite, and then a base on its surface. The deployment of a lunar station, consisting of two modules, will provide not only an expedition to it, but also the return of cargo to Earth. It will also require a manned spacecraft with a crew of at least four people, capable of being in autonomous flight for up to 14 days, as well as a lunar orbital station module and a landing and takeoff vehicle. The next step should be a permanent base on the lunar surface with all the infrastructure that will ensure the stay of four people at the first stage, and then increase the number of base modules and equip it with a power plant, a gateway module and other necessary facilities.
Space club programs
Russia
Within the framework of the concept for the development of Russian manned space exploration until 2040, a program for the exploration of the Moon (2025–2030) and flights to Mars (2035–2040) are envisaged. The current task of developing a satellite of the Earth is the creation of a lunar base, and such a large-scale program should be carried out within the framework of international cooperation, Roscosmos are convinced.
As part of the first stage of the lunar exploration program in 2013-2014, it is planned to launch the lunar satellites Luna-Glob and Luna-Resource, said the head of the Lavochkin NPO Viktor Khartov. The tasks of the Luna-Glob mission are to fly around the Moon, preparation and selection of sites for the lunar rover, for other engineering and scientific complexes, which will become the basis for the future base, as well as the study of the Moon's core using special drilling devices - penetrators (in this matter, cooperation is possible with Japan, since Japanese specialists have been successfully developing penetrators for a long time).
The second stage provides for the delivery of a scientific laboratory - a lunar rover to the moon for a wide range of scientific and technological experiments. At this stage, India, China and European countries are invited to cooperate. It is planned that the Indians within the framework of the Chandrayan-2 mission will provide a rocket and a flight module, as well as launch from their own cosmodrome. Russia will prepare a landing module, a lunar rover weighing 400 kilograms and scientific equipment.
According to Viktor Khartov, in the future (after 2015) the Russian project Luna-Resource / 2 is planned, which provides for the creation of a unified landing platform, a lunar rover with a long range, a take-off rocket from the Moon, means for loading and storing samples of lunar soil delivered to Earth, as well as the implementation of high-precision landing on the lighthouse located on the Moon. At the same time, it is planned to carry out the delivery of lunar soil samples collected using the lunar rover in pre-selected areas of scientific interest.
The Luna-Resource / 2 project will be the third stage of the Russian lunar program. As part of it, it is planned to conduct two expeditions: the first will deliver a heavy research lunar rover to the lunar surface to conduct contact research and take samples of lunar soil, and the second - a take-off rocket to return soil samples to Earth.
The creation of an automatic base will allow solving a number of problems in the interests of a manned lunar program, which provides that after 2026 people will fly to the moon. From 2027 to 2032, it is planned to create a special research center "Lunar Proving Ground" on the Moon, already designed for the work of cosmonauts.
USA
In January 2004, US President George W. Bush announced NASA's goal to "return" to the moon by 2020. The Americans planned to dispose of obsolete shuttles to free up funds by 2010. By 2015, NASA was supposed to deploy a new Constellation program similar to the modernized and expanded Apollo program. The main components of the project are the Ares-1 launch vehicle, which is a development of the shuttle's solid-propellant booster, the Orion manned spacecraft with a crew of up to five to six people, the Altair module, designed for landing on the lunar surface and taking off from it, stage for the escape from the Earth (EOF), as well as the heavy carrier "Ares-5", designed to launch the EOF into the near-earth orbit together with the "Altair". The goal of the Constellation program was to fly to the Moon (not earlier than 2012), and then land on its surface (not earlier than 2020).
However, the new US administration, led by Barack Obama, this year announced the end of the Constellation program, considering it too costly. Having curtailed the lunar program, the Obama administration in parallel decided to extend the funding for the operation of the US segment of the ISS until 2020. At the same time, the US authorities decided to encourage the efforts of private companies to build and operate manned spacecraft.
China
The Chinese Moon Study Program is conventionally divided into three parts. During the first in 2007, the Chang'e-1 spacecraft was successfully launched. He worked in the lunar orbit for 16 months. The result was a high-resolution 3D map of its surface. In 2010, a second research apparatus was sent to the moon to photograph areas, in one of which the Chang'e-3 will have to land.
The second stage of the research program for a natural satellite of the Earth involves the delivery of a self-propelled vehicle to its surface. As part of the third phase (2017), another installation will go to the moon, the main task of which will be the delivery of lunar rock samples to Earth. China intends to send its astronauts to the Earth satellite after 2020. In the future, it is planned to create a habitable station there.
India
India also has a national lunar program. In November 2008, this country launched an artificial lunar satellite "Chandrayan-1". An automatic probe was sent from it to the surface of the natural satellite of the Earth, which studied the composition of the atmosphere and took soil samples.
In cooperation with Roscosmos, India is developing the Chandrayan-2 project, which envisages sending a spacecraft to the Moon using the Indian GSLV launch vehicle, consisting of two lunar modules - an orbital and a landing module.
The launch of the first manned spacecraft is scheduled for 2016. On board, according to the head of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Kumaraswamy Radhakrishnan, two astronauts will go into space, who will spend seven days in low-earth orbit. Thus, India will become the fourth state (after Russia, the United States and China) carrying out manned space flights.
Japan
Japan is developing its lunar program. So, in 1990, the first probe was sent to the moon, and in 2007 the artificial satellite Kaguya was launched there with 15 scientific instruments and two satellites - Okinawa and Ouna on board (it worked in the moon's orbit for more than a year). In 2012-2013, it was planned to launch the next automatic apparatus, by 2020 - a manned flight to the Moon, and by 2025-2030 - the creation of a manned lunar base. However, last year, Japan decided to abandon the manned lunar program due to budget deficits.
