Moscow - Russia will send the next research mission to the Martian moon Phobos in 2022, Lev Zelyony, director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Space Exploration Institute, said.
“We plan to return to Phobos in 2022. This mission will act as a kind of stepping stone for similar international programs,” Zelyony said at a Solar System symposium on Oct. 15.
Russia’s previous mission to the Martian moon Phobos, dubbed Phobos-Grunt, launched successfully on Nov. 9, 2011, but then ceased operation for no discernable reason once it reached orbit.
