MOSCOW, 14 APR – RIA Novosti. NPO. Lavochkin (included in the “Roskosmos”) has completed the preliminary design of a space complex “boomerang” for the taking of soil samples from the Martian satellite Phobos and return them to the Earth, replacement of the interplanetary station “Phobos-Grunt”, not released on a trajectory to Mars and falling into the Pacific ocean.
this was said in an interview with RIA Novosti General Director Vladimir Kolmykov.
In 2011, Russia launched the Mars station “Phobos-Grunt”, but after entering the orbit, the unit did not include the engines for the transition to the trajectory. Within two months it entered the Earth’s atmosphere and fell into the Pacific ocean. The cost of the mission “Phobos-Grunt” was estimated at 5 billion rubles.
In October of 2016, “Rosatom” in the framework of the project “boomerang” has commissioned the development of a new interplanetary station for delivery to Earth 600 grams of soil from Phobos. The development of the project has been allocated 150 million rubles. Just in the Federal space program for 2016-2025 laid more than 10 billion rubles to study Phobos, but only in the case of participation in the project of the European space Agency.
the preliminary Design is carried out before development works. At this stage the feasibility of the development, the way of establishment, the initial requirements for the product.
Recently, Japan has announced that it will be a soil of Phobos your machine. In NPO. Lavochkin about these plans know and consider them when designing your machine.
“In the framework of the preliminary design of the complex “boomerang” analyzed the possible reactions of the Japanese project. Project “boomerang”, in addition to taking samples from Phobos, provides a broad program of studying the system of Mars. Without knowledge of the conditions under which formed the substance of Phobos, is responsible for the proper interpretation of the analysis of samples regardless of who delivers them to Land,” added Kolmykov.
Read the full interview with Vladimir Kolmykov >>
