MOSCOW, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Russia will send astronauts to Moon by 2025 and establish a permanent station on it in 2028-2032, a senior official said here on Friday.

    Russia, which sent the first cosmonaut to the space in 1961, has forged a long-range blueprint for its space industry up to 2040, said Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos).

    "According to our assessments, the manned flight to the Moon will be prepared by 2025, while a permanent station will be created on the Moon's surface in 2028-2032," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

    A manned flight to Mars will be possible after 2025, he said.

    Roscosmos will, at the first stage, focus on exploring near-Earth space, including the construction of the Russian part of the International Space Station, Perminov added.