Russia's Moon And Mars Exploration Ambitions Hobbled By A Lack Of Money (phys.org)

MarkWhittington writes: Phys.Org reports that the ambitions of the Russian Space Agency continue to exceed its financial wherewithal to carry them out. A Russian rocket is due to launch the first element of the European ExoMars program, which consists of the Trace Gas Orbiter and the Italian-built Schiaparelli lander, in March. Both are due to arrive at Mars in October. After that, Russia's space exploration plans are a bit hazy, hobbled by a lack of money.

Comments

Re:NASA is headed in the wrong direction

[SuricouRaven]

This issue has been known since The Art of War. The first chapter can be summed up as two rules which Sun Tzu stresses are of far greater importance than any battlefield tactics:
1. Don't get into a war unless you are confident you can win in.
2. Even if you're confident you can in it, don't get into a war unless you are confident you can win it quickly - because war is horrendously expensive, and a prolonged campaign may leave your treasuries empty and people in poverty even if you are victorious in the field.

He was not an advocate of the fair fight.

Re:NASA is headed in the wrong direction

[smooth wombat]

If they need more money they need to focus on killing people in faraway lands and none of this silly exploration.

Russia is already doing just that in Syria. Every day Russian war planes deliberately target civilians opposed to Assad's dictatorial regime. This past week Russia deliberately targeted several hospitals in Syria.

Russia has tried to claim it's upgrading its weapons systems, but every time they do they come out the next month with downward revisions on the money available to purchase such weapons or put the programs on hold due to the corruption inherent in their society.