EU and Russia unveil new spacecraft

Space flight planners have unveiled a new spaceship design for a joint EU/Russian trip to the Moon. The EU will be building the crew capsule, using technology developed for the automatic cargo system used to supply the International Space Station. The capsule will use rockets to land and take off from the lunar surface and to touchdown back on Earth so that it can be reused. The Russians are enhancing their existing booster technology into a larger rocket capable of carrying six people into orbit or four to the Moon. "If the European Space Agency and the Russian Space Agency reach agreement, Europe will supply the service module of a co-operative spacecraft," Russian aerospace writer Anatoly Zak told BBC News. Nasa has already announced that it intends to make a trip to the lunar surface by 2020 and set up a manned base by... [read full story]