posted 04-25-2009 04:47 PM               

In an effort to revive the Russian lunar program, the unique Russian "Lunar Glob" orbiter is to fire instrumented Russian penetrators into the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 landing sites explored by U.S. astronauts nearly 40 years ago.

The Russian mission, equipped with several surface penetrators and perhaps a small soft lander, is set for launch in 2012.

But that plan is going to be reviewed extensively in May and June by the Russian government and its contractor Lavochkin.

...the Apollo 11 and 12 sites have been chosen as target areas because crews on these and all other Apollo landings deployed seismometers to detect moonquakes to answer the same questions posed by the Russians.