Luna-Glob

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This article or section contains information regarding a future spaceflight.
Due to the nature of the content, details may change dramatically as the launch date approaches and/or more information becomes available.

Luna-Glob is an unmanned mission to the Moon planned by Russia including an orbiter as well as a landing module with 12 ground penetrating sensors. The largest two of them will most likely be a reuse of sensors previously built for the canceled Japanese mission LUNAR-A.

Slated to be launched in 2012 by a Soyuz-Fregate rocket, Luna-Glob will land a surface probe in South Pole-Aitken basin at the Moon's south pole, where it will search for signs of water ice. Furthermore, seismic experiments are planned, including the use of the 12 penetrators, which will slam into the lunar surface, as well as the polar lander, whereas all 13 units are equipped to detect seismic signals. These experiments are expected to help clarifying the origin of Earth's moon whereas two of the penetrators are planned to land near the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 landing sites, taking advantage of seismic data, gathered there from 1969 to 1974.

Luna-Glob is based on plans dating back to 1997. Due to financial problems, however, the project was put on hold only to be revived a few years later.