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