LRO in orbit
NASA's only current lunar mission is Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, developed as part of the Vision for Space Exploration and launched in 2009. Credit: NASA

COLUMBIA, Md. — NASA is in discussions about potential roles it could play on an upcoming series of Russian robotic lunar missions, including landers and sample return spacecraft.

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Jeff Foust writes about space policy, commercial space, and related topics for SpaceNews. He earned a Ph.D. in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree with honors in geophysics and planetary science...