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U.S. Passes on Joint Moon Exploration
Roscosmos head Anatoly Perminov announced on Sunday that the United States had decided not to conduct joint Moon research with Russia. “We were ready to collaborate, but the U.S. stated, for some unknown reason, that it was rejecting the program,” he said, adding that the two countries would continue to cooperate on the International Space Station.
Under a recently signed agreement, Russia will continue to carry American shipments to the space station until 2011. Perminov said that the agreement was worth approximately $1 billion.
Under a new space program announced by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2004, American astronauts should walk on the Moon again by 2020. NASA head Michael Griffin said recently that the creating a new shuttle had taken priority over Moon exploration.
The current U.S. shuttles are to be retired by 2010 and replaced by the new Orion spacecraft. Latest information indicates that the Orion is not likely to be ready earlier than 2015, however.
www.kommersant.com
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