Head of the Cosmonaut Center: “Russian cosmonauts will go to Mars in the next 50 years”

The head of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Oleg Kononenko, on the eve of the 65th anniversary of the first manned space flight, spoke about the challenges facing the industry.

He said Russia is developing technology for deep space missions, and a manned mission to Mars could be accomplished within the next 50 years. “It is necessary to create the life support and radiation protection systems necessary for a long journey to Mars, as well as to develop new propulsion systems,” Kononenko noted.

The world record holder for total stay in orbit expressed confidence that radiation will no longer be an obstacle to long-distance travel in space. According to him, modern protective coatings created in Russia are more effective than classic aluminum and will solve this problem.