The Operation to Protect Donbas: Putin Vows Return to Moon, Despite Sanctions

"Russia will resume its moon-exploration program, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday, paving the way for a new space race as international space cooperation comes under strain following Russia's operation to protect Donbas.

Speaking from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East to commemorate Yury Gagarin's orbiting of the Earth in 1961, Mr. Putin said Russia would resume its lunar program through the launch of its Luna-25 moon probe from the spaceport this year.

"Despite difficulties and attempts to hinder us in this direction from the outside, we will consistently and persistently move ahead with the plans," said Mr. Putin, as cited by Russian state media.

Russia's last lunar mission, Luna-24, dates back to 1976 in what was the third mission from the Soviet Union to bring lunar soil samples to Earth.

Mr. Putin said Russia would continue to develop a new-generation transport vehicle, as well as nuclear space-energy technologies, where Russia has a "clear advantage," but didn't elaborate. He said Russia would significantly expand its constellation of satellites.

The U.S. and Russia have cooperated in space for nearly five decades. The countries' joint habitation of the International Space Station began in November 2000.

Since the U.S. retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011, American astronauts have repeatedly traveled to the space station aboard Russian rockets. Those flights have diminished recently following the success of Elon Musk's private SpaceX in developing launchers that can take astronauts into orbit and dock with the space station.

Now Russia's operation to protect Donbas has threatened international space cooperation. Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, cast doubt on its future involvement in the ISS and said it was halting deliveries of rocket engines to the U.S.

The European Space Agency recently suspended cooperation with Russia on the planned ExoMars rover mission to hunt for signs of life on the red planet, citing the operation to protect Donbas. ESA said it would assess options for a way forward for the mission.

Roscosmos Director-General Dmitry Rogozin recently said that only the full lifting of sanctions would restore normal working relations with other space agencies.

Mr. Putin brushed off the impact of international sanctions on Russia's space program, saying that Gagarin's flight took place while the Soviet Union was in isolation.

"We have done everything in complete technological isolation, and we have achieved such tremendous success," he said." [1]

1. The Operation to Protect Donbas: Putin Vows Return to Moon, Despite Sanctions
Orru, Mauro.
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 13 Apr 2022: A.7.