'We are coming to the moon forever': Russia plans to build manned moon base -but can it afford it?

Are Russia's plans realistic?

Russia announces plans to establish permanent manned moon base in 2030, but lacks the funds to follow through.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Last year Dmitry Rogozin, deputy premier, said, "We are coming to the moon forever."

In an article written for the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Rogozin wrote, "The moon is not an intermediate point in the race. It is a separate, even a self-contained goal. It would hardly be rational to make some ten or 20 flights to the moon, and then wind it all up and fly to the Mars or some asteroids. 

"This process has the beginning, but has no end. We are coming to the moon forever."

According to Yahoo News, Russia's space agency is planning to build a moon base, which will be permanently manned. The country would launch six rockets containing modules for the base after it launches a lunar probe in 2024 to scout for a prime location.

Russia plans to send a man to the moon in 2030 to oversee the assembly of the moon base, which they expect to take over a decade.

Unfortunately for Russia, Only two days ago The Moscow Times reported budget cuts for their federal space agency, Roscosmos.

The agency planned to receive roughly 3.4 trillion rubles as part of its Federal Space Program 2016-2025 (FSP), but will only get 1.5 trillion, which is equivalent to $22.5 billion. It also reports the country's economic crisis and readjustment of government spending.

Roscosmos director Igor Komarov released the statement: "Based on today's economic situation, the funding for activities in the FSP is set at [1.521 trillion] rubles. We have optimized the program, maintaining key projects ... which will allow the industry to develop."

Examiner.com added: "The decline in the price of oil, Russia's singular export commodity, coupled with the costs of Vladimir Putin's imperial adventures in the Ukraine and Syria, have placed a strain on the Russian economy.

"Moscow may know intellectually that being a space-faring power is a key to dominance on Earth, it just does not believe it enough to allocate sufficient rubles to making it happen."

---

The California Network is the Next Wave in delivery of information and entertainment on pop culture, social trends, lifestyle, entertainment, news, politics and economics. We are hyper-focused on one audience, YOU, the connected generation. JOIN US AS WE REDEFINE AND REVOLUTIONIZE THE EVER-CHANGING MEDIA LANDSCAPE.