The Russian space agency Roscosmos is said to be developing a new and improved spacecraft. A spacecraft capable not just of carrying astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), but also fulfilling Russia's dream of landing a cosmonaut on the moon, or even Mars. Nonetheless, Russia's spacecraft first trip to space in 2021 may be unmanned, as it will carry a robot pilot.

The Russian space agency is currently working on a new and improved spacecraft. A spacecraft that can fulfill Russia's dream of landing a cosmonaut on the moon, or even Mars. But, the first trip of the Russian spacecraft to space in 2021 will carry a robot pilot. Russia's new spacecraft will be dubbed as Federatsiya.

Russia's new Federatsiya spaceship won't be going into space entirely unmanned, as the spacecraft will carry a robot pilot. Federatsiya's first mission to space will be helmed by a humanoid robot called FEDOR (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research), Fox Business reported.

Russia's new Federatsiya spacecraft will be larger than its predecessor Soyuz, and will accommodate up to six cosmonauts. Crewed missions of the new Federatsiya are expected to kick off as early as 2023, and Russia plans to conduct Federatsiya's manned moon mission as early as 2025.

Nonetheless, the director of Russia's Advanced Research Fund, Andrey Grigoriev, stated that the humanoid robot FEDOR was designed to replace real-life astronauts in high-risk locations, such as rescue operations. FEDOR was taught to handle special tools, drive a car, work independently in an urban environment, navigate the terrain, as well as first aid, News Week reported.

In spite of that, the humanoid robot is not fully functional yet. Wherein, Russia's Advanced Research Fund announced last week an open competition to find programmers capable of developing FEDOR's high-tech software. The contest kicks off in May and runs until February 28, 2018.

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