24.09.2020, Moscow.
The Soviet Union planned to create an observatory on the Moon surface, this follows from the declassified documents published by Roscosmos Corporation on September 24 on its official website.
The observatory was supposed to be created by the end of the 1960s. It was supposed to become a prototype for creation of future lunar stations intended for observations of the Sun, the Earth, and other space objects, as follows from the document signed in 1967 by Yuriy Mozzhorin, Director of the Central Research Institute for Machine Building.
It was supposed to create an observatory on the basis of E-8 lunar landing station and then to send it into space using Proton-K launch vehicle.
Earlier this month, Director of the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Sachkov told that Russian and Chinese scientists were considering the plans for creation of a joint OAST telescope on the Moon after 2030.
The construction of such an observatory may be useful for the observation of celestial bodies in the ultraviolet wavelength range, as such an observation from Earth is problematic because of the atmosphere.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
