Russia plans unmanned moon mission in 2015

The moon-bound spacecraft will be launched from Russia’s new Vostochny cosmodrome in two years, according to the Russian Space Agency.

THE RUSSIAN SPACE Agency says it will send an unmanned spacecraft to the moon in 2015 from a new launch pad in the country’s Far East.

Roscosmos head Vladimir Popovkin told Russian news agencies on Tuesday that the rocket booster would deliver a 500-kilogramme (1,100-pound) space exploration vehicle with up to 25 kilogrammes (55 pounds) of scientific equipment that would search for water and take soil samples.

Popovkin said the moon-bound spacecraft would be launched from Russia’s new Vostochny cosmodrome. President Vladimir Putin has vowed to invest $1 billion in building this launch pad in the Amur Region not far from the Chinese border.

PIC: The “delicious” food astronauts eat in space

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