Russian space officials are to select the winning proposal for a new rocket intended to carry cosmonauts on missions to the Moon.

This will mark the first time since 1964 that the Russian space programme has made the Moon its main objective.

It will be only the second time since the collapse of the Soviet Union that Moscow has endorsed the development of a new space vehicle.

The rocket is expected to fly its first test mission in about 2015.

According to the objectives given by the Russian space agency (Roscosmos) to industry, a future rocket should be able to hoist a payload three times heavier than Russia`s veteran Soyuz spacecraft, including twice the number of crew, and use environmentally friendly propellants.

The development of the new rocket should be accompanied by work on Russia`s next-generation manned spacecraft, which will use it to get into orbit.

Russian space officials say the yet-to-be-named rocket should carry its first manned spacecraft in 2018. The project was timed to roughly coincide with the US space agency`s (Nasa) plans to return astronauts to the Moon by 2020 under its Constellation programme.
sections: Hi-Tech