Says It Will Have A Permanent Base 'Up And Running' By 2040

As Russia was celebrating the anniversary of the first spaceflight of Yuri Gagarin on Saturday, Deputy Premier Dmitry Rogozin made a bold statement: "We are coming to the moon forever."

Rogozin said that the establishment of a permanent colony on the Moon is an essential first step towards eventual manned exploration of Mars, Venus, and asteroids. According to the U.K. newspaper The Mail, Rogozin said that the Moon is "a separate, even a self-contained goal."

Rogozin said that he envisioned ten to 20 flights to the Moon, and then on to Mars or asteroids. "This process has the beginning, but has no end. We are coming to the Moon forever," he said.

The paper reports the Russia's goal is to have a lunar base for long-term missions established by 2040. He said the United States' announcement that it was ending space cooperation with Russia beyond what is necessary for maintaining the ISS will force Russia "to create a strategy of development of Russian manned space flights independent for unreliable international partners."

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