Roscosmos head says the Moon could become a backup home for humanity

Humanity is likely to explore the Moon in the future and subsequently begin colonizing Mars, believes Roscosmos head Dmitry Bakanov. He believes the current generation may witness the first lunar missions, creating the permanent infrastructure necessary for long-term human presence. This is reported by Ixbt.com. reports.

In an interview with the «Yunashev LIVE» Telegram channel, Bakanov stated that he views the Moon not only as a scientific object but also as a potential backup location for humanity in the event of large-scale natural or man-made disasters on Earth. He emphasized that such a scenario requires the ability for humans to live autonomously outside of Earth.

Stages of exploring the Moon and Mars

«Who knows what will happen on Earth? What kind of man-made and natural disasters will occur? There must always be a backup option where humanity can 'move'. And there is no other way to do this than through space. The first stage is the Moon,» noted Dmitry Bakanov.

According to Ixbt.com, the first stage should be mastering technologies for life support on the Moon. Specifically, experts must learn to provide people with air, water, energy, and other resources for long periods without constant support from Earth. Eventually, this could lead to the creation of more autonomous closed ecological systems.

Russia is already participating in projects related to future lunar infrastructure. In May 2025, Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration signed a memorandum of cooperation on building a power plant for the International Lunar Research Station.

Space infrastructure and future prospects

Following the Moon, Mars is identified as the next major direction for space exploration. At the same time, the head of Roscosmos admits that the current technological level does not yet allow for the full-scale colonization of other celestial bodies. He estimates that the development of space technologies should eventually make such projects feasible.

During the interview, the Roscosmos head also commented on the dismantling of the launch complex intended for Soyuz rockets at the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Bakanov called the decision to dismantle the facility strange, noting that the complex had provided dozens of successful flights and was a functional infrastructure object.

However, according to him, the cessation of Kourou's operation does not deprive Russia of the ability to launch Soyuz rockets. Rockets belonging to this family continue to fly from three spaceports: Baikonur, Plesetsk, and Vostochny, so the country will continue to rely on existing launch infrastructure.