Russia Puts Off Solar Probe Launch Until After 2025 – Research Institute Head

Russia has put off a costly mission to send a probe to the Sun until after 2025, the director of a Russian Academy of Sciences’ Space Research Institute said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The project to send the probe into the Sun's atmosphere ran into difficulties in 2015 when Russia’s federal space program for 2016-2025 was hit by lack of funding.

"The Intergeliozond project is expensive and hard to bring to life, so it was pushed back beyond 2025," Lev Zelyony told RIA Novosti.

Back then, Zelyony told reporters that the probe launch, as well as plans to build a new space observatory, required the Russian government to approve an extra $150 million for the entire national space program.

The solar probe is a brain child of several Russian research institutes and organizations from 13 EU countries. It will use the gravity of Venus to maneuver closer to the nearest star and make measurements during flybys between the Sun and the Earth.