Lunar Expeditionary Complex
The LEK Lunar Expeditionary Complex was a lunar expedition and Moon base proposed by Valentin Glushko in 1974 as a Soviet response to the United States' Apollo program and as a successor to the Zvezda moonbase, which was based on the cancelled N1-L3 crewed Moon expedition program. If implemented, it was intended to have been operational by 1980 and used for scientific and engineering research.
Hardware
The Vulkan-LEK project was based on new superheavy launcher developed in Glushko's bureau.
The moonbase design consisted of a number of modules, including:
- Lunokhod, an 8-ton pressurized lunar rover to be used to build the base and for expeditions.[1]
- The LZM ("Laboratory-Factory Module"), a 15.5-ton pressurized module to be used for oxygen production and scientific experiments.
- The LZhM ("Laboratory-Habitation Module"), 21.5-ton habitation module where cosmonauts were to reside.
- A nuclear power station to provide electricity.
- A simple transport vehicle to ferry supplies to and from a lunar orbit.
Project termination
The project was cancelled in 1976 when a Russian Academy of Sciences Commission ruled that resources should be targeted toward projects primarily adding economic value rather than for national prestige.
See also
- Zvezda (moonbase)
- Soviet Moonshot
- Space race
References
- ^ "Lunokhod LEK". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
External links
- the LEK Lunar Expeditionary Complex at astronautix.com.
- Entry at russianspaceweb.com.
- v
- t
- e
- Project Horizon (1960s)
- Lunex Project (1960s)
- Apollo Lunar Base (1970s)
- JSC Moon Base (1980s)
- Lunox (1990s)
- Lunar Outpost (2000s)
- Artemis Base Camp (2030s)
Russian projects
- Zvezda moonbase (1960s)
- KLE Complex Lunar Expedition (1970s)
- L3M (1970s)
- Lunar Expeditionary Complex (1970s)
- Energia Lunar Expedition (1980s)
- Lunny Poligon (2030s)
Russian project
- International Lunar Research Station (late 2020s)
- "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!" (1950s)
- Artemis Project (1990s)
- Human Lunar Return (1990s)
- Chinese Lunar Base (2030s)
- JAXA Moon Base (2030s)
- Sinus Roris
- Eratosthenes
- Sinus Medii
- Montes Apenninus
- Kepler
- Shackleton
- Peary
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Physical properties |  | |
| Orbit |
| |
| Surface and features |
| |
| Science | ||
| Exploration | ||
| Time-telling and navigation | ||
| Phases and names | ||
| Daily phenomena | ||
| Related |
| |
| ||
 | This space- or spaceflight-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e
