Unknown KA in the Assembly Shop of NPO Lavochkin

[Johannes]

Who knows something about the space apparatus, which can be seen in the background – behind the parabolic antenna? Probably there is a connection with the Marsokhod.



Note: The image is part of an larger one, which I found in a PowerPoint presentation about the "Navigator" module. – http://www.oact.inaf.it/wso/wic-jun06/28_06/NV-platform-rus.ppt (12,1 MB)

[Николай Дзись-Войнаровский]

I guess it's prototype of marsokhod which was made in VNIItransmash, Saint-Petersburg (main developer of lunokhods, marsokhods etc). The name of marsokhod on your photo is MIR. It ables to drive up very steep (up to 34 degrees) sandy slopes.

[Николай Дзись-Войнаровский]

Or you ask about AMS?

[Николай Дзись-Войнаровский]

Anyway it's no connection between marsokhod and this AMS :-)

[Николай Дзись-Войнаровский]

the AMS looks like space observatory SPEKTR-R (http://www.laspace.ru/rus/spektrR.php) on FREGAT booster (http://www.laspace.ru/rus/fregat.php).

[Johannes]

the AMS looks like space observatory SPEKTR-R (http://www.laspace.ru/rus/spektrR.php) on FREGAT booster (http://www.laspace.ru/rus/fregat.php).

I see no similarity with "Spektr-R" and "Fregat". Solar Panels are too small. Parabolic Antenna and Engines are on the wrong places. KDU has another symmetry than "Fregat" - it resembles more ADU of KA "Fobos" or "Mars-96" except that it is smaller. Also I cannot see the "Navigator" module.

[Johannes]

Recently I found purely by chance this sketch in a pdf file about Exomars. Although the contents of the document do not have really connection to the figure, the apparatus shown has remarkable similarity with the unidentified apparatus in the photo! Does someone know more about this Marsokhod project?