Zvezda (moonbase)
Soviet plan for a crewed moonbase, canceled in 1974.
Zvezda (Russian for "star"), also designated the DLB Lunar Base, was a Soviet project to build a crewed outpost on the Moon, running from 1962 until 1974. It was intended to follow the N1-L3 program, which aimed to land cosmonauts on the lunar surface. The project was commissioned by Soviet space chief Korolyov and assigned to Vladimir Barmin's Spetsmash bureau. It was ultimately cancelled along with all other Soviet human lunar efforts.
The plan called for the base's main living module to be delivered first. Subsequent automatic spacecraft, including Lunokhod rovers, would arrive, followed by a human crew and additional modules. For crew protection, the habitation units might have been buried under lunar soil. To allow the base to move or be relocated, the modules could have been mounted on wheeled chassis and linked together to form a mobile train. Power would have come from atomic batteries and a nuclear reactor. In technical documents the project was called DLB Lunar Base, while government papers used Zvezda; its designers informally nicknamed it Barmingrad, after Barmin. Studies covered the base's objectives, construction concepts, implementation stages, scientific and construction equipment, and possible military uses.
The core unit was the habitation module, with nine planned, each delivered separately. Modules were designated for control, laboratory, living, medical, dining, storage, and other functions. Each measured 8.6 meters long and 3.3 meters in diameter, weighing 18 tons. After delivery, modules would start at 4.5 meters in length and expand to full size via a mechanism and air compression. The train, weighing 8 tons, would be operated by four cosmonauts and consist of tug, life support, power, and drilling sections. Each module's chassis had eight independently driven wheels, similar to those on Lunokhods. Modules and train sections had three protective layers against micrometeorites, heat, and ultraviolet radiation, with a special styrofoam layer between inner and outer metal shells. The train included a manipulator arm for collecting soil samples without requiring space suits. Water would be extracted from lunar soil through a chemical reaction; the Lavochkin bureau developed a small-scale version of this unit but never tested it. The base's crew would number between 9 and 12.
Zvezda was not a standalone program but part of the N1-L3 exp
- field
- Space exploration
- nationality
- Soviet
- known_for
- Planned crewed moonbase
- project_duration
- 1962–1974
- project_lead
- Vladimir Barmin
- crew_size
- 9 to 12
Lore & Background
The Zvezda moonbase project was ordered by Soviet space chief Korolyov to Vladimir Barmin's Spetsmash bureau. The project was named DLB Lunar Base in technical specifications and Zvezda in government documents. Unofficially, the project was called Barmingrad (Barmin's city or Barmin City) by its designers after the project lead. The base's main habitation module would first be delivered to the Moon, followed by automatic spacecraft including the Lunokhod rover, then a human crew and more modules. For crew safety, habitation modules might have been covered with regolith, and they may have been installed on wheel chassis to form a movable train. Energy would have been provided by atomic batteries and a nuclear reactor.
Reader's Guide
The Zvezda moonbase project was not a separate program but part of the N1-L3 expedition program for the 1970s. Its realization depended on the N-1 superheavy launcher, all four launches of which failed between 1969 and 1972. Before cancellation, the new project N1F-L3M was proposed for expeditions from 1979 onwards, which may have led to the Zvezda moonbase in the 1980s. The new Soviet space chief Glushko canceled the N1-L3 program in 1974 but proposed the Vulkan-LEK project, which was not realized. Moon expeditions and base construction would have required nearly 50 billion rubles (80 billion US dollars in 1997). All crewed Soviet lunar programs, including Zvezda, were classified as top secret and only published in the glasnost epoch since 1990.
Did You Know?
- The base's habitation modules were to be 8.6 meters in full length and 3.3 meters in diameter, with 18 tons in full weight.
- The modules had 3 layers of protection from micrometeorites, heat and ultraviolet rays, with a special styrofoam between metal layers.
- Water would have been extracted from lunar soil by a chemical reaction; the Lavochkin bureau developed but did not test a small version of such a unit.
- The train module had an 8-ton mass and would be operated by 4 cosmonauts, with a manipulator arm for collecting soil samples without space suits.
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