Russias Lunar and Venus Exploration Plans Pushed Back to 2028 and 2036

Russia has delayed its upcoming missions to the Moon and Venus for at least a year, with launches now scheduled for 2028 and 2036, respectively, as announced by the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) on Friday.

The Luna-26 orbiter is designed to identify potential landing locations on the Moon, while the long-postponed Venera-D mission intends to investigate the harsh conditions of Venus and search for indications of primitive life, according to RAS president Gennady Krasnikov in an interview with the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia.

The country’s space agency, Roscosmos, has yet to officially confirm the updated schedule.

Yury Borisov, the former head of Roscosmos, previously indicated that Luna-26 was set to be launched in 2027, with subsequent missions Luna-27 and Luna-28 expected in 2028 and 2030 or later. The Venus mission, which was initially anticipated for a window between 2034 and 2035, has now been pushed back to 2036.

Krasnikov did not provide specific reasons for the delays; however, Lev Zeleny, the director of the RAS Space Research Institute, mentioned in March that scientists were hesitant to pressure aerospace company NPO Lavochkina, which is developing the orbiter, lander, and aerostats for the missions.

Krasnikov noted that Lavochkina is tasked with creating more than half of the equipment for the Luna program, and “substantial funds” have been allocated to enhance the company’s capacity to meet the set deadlines.

This year, President Vladimir Putin allocated 4.4 trillion rubles (approximately $54.6 billion) for Russia’s national space initiative through 2036.

Russia’s most recent lunar endeavor, Luna-25, ended in failure when it crashed during a pre-landing maneuver in August 2023, following several years of delays. The last successful Russian lunar landing took place in 1976, after which the focus shifted to exploring Venus and the Mir space station.

The Venera program from the Soviet Union holds the distinction of being the only initiative to have successfully landed a probe on Venus, starting with the first mission in 1970.