Mercury-P

Mercury-P
Artist's rendering of the Mercury-P spacecraft with Dvina-TM solar-electric transport module
Mission typeMercury exploration
OperatorRoscosmos
Spacecraft properties
BOL mass8,120 kg (17,900 lb)
Landing mass710 kg (1,570 lb)
Payload mass
  • Lander: 40 kg (88 lb)
  • Orbiter: 50 kg (110 lb)
Start of mission
Launch dateNET 2030s
RocketSoyuz-2
Mercury orbiter
Mercury lander

Mercury-P (Russian: Меркурий-П) is a mission concept for an orbiter and lander by the Russian Federal Space Agency to study the planet Mercury. The letter P in Mercury-P stands for the Russian word 'posadka', meaning landing.

History

Mercury-P would be the first soft lander on Mercury. A proposed flight scenario for the mission included a flyby of Venus, the insertion of the spacecraft into the orbit around Mercury (possibly by use of a Dvina solar-electric tug), and the delivery of a lander on its surface. The Institute of Space Research studied the possibility of "recycling" hardware developed for the Phobos-Grunt, Mars-NET, Mars-96, and Solar Sail spacecraft, with proposed upgrades of the hardware. As of 2012, Russian scientists have conducted a preliminary concept study of the project, and compiled a list of the required scientific payload.

As a result of the failure of the Phobos-Grunt, several Russian planetary exploration proposals derived from its design were delayed into the 2030s, including Mercury-P.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Mercury-P project". Russianspaceweb. 13 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 LAVOCHKIN ASSOCIATION - Space Missions. (PDF). Roscosmos 2010.
  3. 1 2 Russian space probe aims to be the first to land on Venus' surface. October 17, 2012. Andrei Kislyakov Russia Beyond
  4. ↑ Roscosmos looking to win the Venus race. Andrei Kislyakov, Russia Beyond.October 18, 2012.