The country intends to eventually build a fully robotic base on the Moon's surface
The news just broke that Roscosmos (i.e. the Russian Federal Space Agency) is getting ready to launch a spacecraft to the Moon as early as the year 2015.This spacecraft is set to be an unmanned one, and Russia admitted that its being launched was part and parcel of their plans to eventually set up a robotic base on this satellite's surface.
Information made available to the public thus far says that this unmanned spacecraft, referred to as the Luna-Glob (i.e. the Moon Globe) is to be followed shortly by two more orbiters and two rovers.
Roscosmos explains that its Luna-Glob will be launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, which is currently being built in the Russian Far East.
The Luna-Glob's working agenda will revolve around collecting rock and soil samples, and sending them back to Earth.
Russia expects that, all things considered, their robotic lunar base will be up and running by 2037 at the latest.
According to Gizmag, this lunar base is to include a solar power station, a long-range research rover and a dedicated orbiting satellite.