Trying to sound impressive, Putin says Russia will resume lunar program

And, according to Russian media reports, Putin added, "We will resume the lunar program."The next-generation ship presumably refers to the "Orel," or Eagle, spacecraft that would be capable of launching cosmonauts into low Earth orbit as well as to the Moon. Hours after Putin spoke at Vostochny Cosmodrome in far-eastern Russia, the European Space Agency Council held a meeting during which its members agreed to discontinue cooperative activities with Russia on the three Luna missions."The Russian aggression against Ukraine and the resulting sanctions put in place represent a fundamental change of circumstances and make it impossible for ESA to implement the planned lunar cooperation," the space agency said in a statement.Instead of partnering with Russia, ESA said it would now work with NASA and its commercial partners. He added that even the small Luna 25 mission's schedule will likely slip again.In his remarks Tuesday, Putin did not address the International Space Station, which is the last major remaining tie between Russia and the United States, Europe, Canada, and Japan in space.