Moscow international symposia on solar system research (10M-S3 and 11M-S3) reports review. Part 2. Moon and Mercury, Venus

The article provides an overview of the reports of the last two Moscow Solar System Symposium concerning the Moon, Mercury and Venus. A total of 65 reports were considered, in which issues of planning prospective missions to these objects, the program and tasks of their research, scientific equipment, as well as the latest scientific results are discussed. The reports cover the issues of the geological structure of the Moon, Mercury and Venus, the composition and physico-chemical properties of the lunar soil and the dust exosphere of the Moon, the evolution of the surface, atmosphere and climate of Venus, its cloud deck. A number of reports on the prospects for exploration of the Moon place special emphasis on the exploration and extraction of local resources, including polar deposits of water ice in the interests of lunar bases and future extraterrestrial industry. The issues of using these resources in the interests of the Earth’s economy and solving environmental problems are considered. Much attention is paid to Venus as an object of astrobiological research in the light of recent data on possible microbiological activity in its cloud deck. The above material may be of interest to specialists in the rocket and space industry, in particular, when developing programs for deep space exploration by both automatic and manned spacecrafts.