Not content with violating Ukraine’s sovereignty, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced ambitious plans to reach new territory.
Speaking on Tuesday (April 12), Putin stressed that the Russian Space Agency would need to “successfully stand up to the challenges of space exploration.”
To do this, he claimed they would develop a “next-generation spaceship” as well as new nuclear space technology.
He also said they would be sending an unmanned spacecraft to the moon later this year in what would be a long-awaited return to the rock.
The Luna 25 launch date had initially been planned for 2016, but was pushed back to 2018 and then 2021.
Putin's ambitious plans come just weeks after Russia announced it would pull out of the International Space Station, ending 23 years of international co-operation in space.
Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin announced that a timetable for completion of the ISS project will soon be submitted to the Russia’s leadership.
It was thought the move was prompted by international sanctions over the war in Ukraine, and is a major blow for the future of space exploration.
The space station needs constant maintenance to maintain a stable orbit, and without Russia's contribution could have to be decommissioned far sooner than originally planned.
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Rogozin said: "Sanctions from the US, Canada, the European Union and Japan are aimed at blocking financial, economic and production activities of our high-tech enterprises.
"The purpose of the sanctions is to kill the Russian economy, plunge our people into despair and hunger, and bring our country to its knees. It is clear that they will not be able to do this, but the intentions are clear.
"That is why I believe that the restoration of normal relations between partners in the International Space Station and other joint projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions.
"Specific proposals of Roscosmos on the timing of the completion of cooperation within the framework of he ISS with the space agencies of the United States, Canada, the European Union and Japan will be reported to the leadership of our country in the near future."
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