Russia will spend 30 percent less on its space program in the next decade and scale back a slew of projects to save money in the face of tanking oil prices and a falling ruble, a plan presented by the country's space agency showed on Wednesday,
According to the blueprint, presented to Russian media by Igor Komarov, head of space agency Roscosmos, the space program budget for 2016-2025 will be cut to 1.4 trillion rubles ($17.36 billion), down from 2 trillion rubles.
That means plans to launch a manned flight to the moon will be pushed back five years — to 2035 from 2030 — and that development of a reusable space rocket meant to be built by 2025 will, for now, be abandoned.