Dmitry Rogozin's statement, made on Cosmonautics Day, that Russia will begin colonizing the moon in 2030, is based on a concept developed by the Russian Academy of Sciences, Roscosmos and Moscow State University.
The draft Concept of the Russian lunar program, which was at the disposal of Izvestia, provides for the creation of a habitable base and a test site on the Moon with the possibility of mining. The first expeditions within the framework of this project are planned for 2030.
The authors do not exclude that private investors may be involved in the project. It is assumed that the exploration of the Moon should become an international project, but the text of the Concept contains an important reservation: "The independence of the national lunar program from the conditions and volume of participation of foreign partners in it must be ensured."
The presence of aluminum, iron, titanium, rare earth elements and other minerals on the Moon has been established by previous studies, but before attracting investors, it is necessary to draw up a feasibility study for the feasibility of their extraction, processing and delivery to Earth.
According to Ivan Moiseyev, scientific director of the Institute of Space Policy, the delivery of even the most valuable materials from the Moon to Earth will be unprofitable, but the Moon can become a promising cosmodrome from which mankind will take its first step into deep space. Andrei Ionin, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, believes that the exploration of the Moon and other planets will become the prerogative of private companies, since the government has more important tasks that require investment of money.
The authors believe that the first lunar footholds of mankind will be located near the poles, where the hills are almost always illuminated, and the lowlands, where the sun's rays falling on a tangent, do not penetrate, on the contrary, are in the shadow. Lunar soil (regolith) will be used in the construction.
The exploration of the moon is supposed to be carried out in three stages.
The first stage (2016–2025): the launch of the automatic interplanetary stations Luna-25, Luna-26, Luna-27 and Luna-28, which will have to determine the composition and physicochemical properties of the regolith with water ice and other volatile compounds and select an area near the lunar South Pole for the deployment of a test site and a lunar base.
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The second stage (2028–2030): manned expeditions to the orbit of the Moon without landing on its surface. For these purposes, a manned transport spacecraft is already being created at RSC Energia.
The third stage (2030–2040): the cosmonauts visit the selected area and the deployment of the first elements of infrastructure using regolith.
The draft Federal Space Program, after a comprehensive examination, will be submitted to the government for consideration.