The General Director of the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences’ United Institute of Informatics Problems, Alexander Tuzikov, tells us, “In early April, we met our Russian colleagues to discuss how our scientists could join the Russian Federal Space Agency in achieving its projects. One we can help with is the development of a lunar base and a lunar-mobile.”
Staff at Minsk’s Lykov Institute of Heat and Mass Transfer are already testing the Russian-European ExoMars-2018 project’s rover vehicle. Anticipated launch is in two years’ time, with Belarusian scientists testing durability. The chief designer of the Belarusian remote sensing system, Sergey Zolotoy, comments, “Our unique testing tools and instruments for making covers perform well in a dense atmosphere. We’re helping ensure that the Mars vehicle doesn’t kick up too much dust.”
In January, the first Belarusian telecommunication satellite, Belintersat-1, was launched; on April 12th, its ground-based control complex came into operation near Minsk. This November, Belarus-born Oleg Novitsky will make his second space flight, having commanded the international expedition to the International Space Station in 2013.
By Ivan Nikolaev
