Prospects for manned spaceflight

Russia Wants to Build New Space Station, Extend Life of ISS to 2020

The Russian space agency (Roscosmos) has announced that it will lobby Moscow with a proposal that would see the construction of a new Russian space station in low-Earth orbit. Also, the agency has expressed a desire to extend the operational lifespan of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2020 (the outpost is set for retirement in 2015). Building a Russian space station will aid Russia's desire to kick-start their lunar program, possibly acting as a staging post for future missions to Mars . . .