Mars Piloted Orbital Station

The mission would also investigate if people can survive a lengthy trip through deep space and effectively perform their tasks.

His article was published in the Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta on October 18, 2000 under the title Vperyod, Na Mars!

Rossii sleduyet vzyat kurs na sozdaniye marsianskoi pilotiruemoy orbitalnoy stantsii [Onward, to Mars!

[citation needed] The idea of Marpost was then picked up by Leonid Gorshkov, one of the main designers of the RKK Energia (Raketno-Kosmicheskaya Korporatsiya – Rocket-Space Corporation) company, the leading Russian space developer and builder of human spaceflight hardware.

Later however, in order to lower the cost of the mission, the elements of MEK were proposed to be launched by a Proton or Angara rocket.