NASA head Michael Griffin and RKA head Anatoly Perminov signed the deal while U.S. astronauts and Russian cosmonauts were in attendance, along with other government officials and dignitaries.

Specifically, Russia will provide scientific instruments for lunar and Martian missions in order to detect hydrogen on the Moon and Mars. The presence of hydrogen is a clear sign that water may also be present.

The first NASA mission using Russian technology will be the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), now scheduled to liftoff in October 2008. The LRO is the first mission for the U.S. “Vision for Space Exploration” federal space policy, which was announced by President George Bush in 2004.

The LRO will be placed into a low polar orbit about the Moon so that it can make detailed observations about the lunar environment—the most comprehensive and highest resolution data ever taken of the lunar surface. Successful completion of its minimum one-year mission will help future manned missions to the Moon, especially with regard to establishing a permanent manned outpost on the Moon.

Onboard the LRO will be a Russian Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND). The instrument will make measurements, detect water ice deposits near the lunar surface, and create maps of the Moon’s surface. The LEND will help the mission to detect specific sites where water may exist.

The U.S. Vision for Space Exploration, in a nutshell, states these goals: (1) complete the International Space Station (2010), (2) retire the Space Transportation System (space shuttles) (2010), (3) begin Project Constellation by developing Orion spacecraft (2008), (4) begin exploration of the Moon with unmanned spacecraft, such as LRO (2008), (5) continue with Project Constellation by developing the Ares launch vehicles and begin manned missions (2014), (6) begin exploration of the Moon with manned vehicles (2020), and (7) begin exploration of Mars and other destinations with unmanned and manned vehicles (probably in the 2030 time frame).

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