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University Rector Mikhail Gordin also participated in the meeting.

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Rector of Bauman Moscow State Technical University Mikhail Gordin: These are our students. Most of them, the most active ones, participate in various organisations, engineering centres, and student design bureaus. Naturally, they would like to ask some questions.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Just not too complicated ones. Please, go ahead.

I have a question, does anyone live in these new campuses?

Tatyana Gorshkova: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: Where are you from?

Tatyana Gorshkova: I am from Ivanovo.

Vladimir Putin: When did you move here?

Tatyana Gorshkova: I moved into the new dormitory in August.

Vladimir Putin: Do you like it here?

Tatyana Gorshkova: Yes, sure.

Vladimir Putin: Who are your roommates?

Tatyana Gorshkova: I share the room with students from my department. I am in my third year, my neighbour is in her fourth year, and two others are in their sixth year. We communicate, and I gain experience from them.

Vladimir Putin: This is what the rector spoke about. Communication is very important. Are they from different years and fields of study?

Tatyana Gorshkova: No, the same field, they are just a bit older.

Vladimir Putin: Excellent. Congratulations on this campus.

Tatyana Gorshkova: Thank you.

Sofia Vostrikova: Good afternoon.

My name is Sofia Vostrikova. I am a fifth-year student in the Department of Special Life Support Systems, majoring in refrigeration and cryogenic engineering.

Until recently, Russia actively collaborated with European countries in the creation of space projects, which are currently suspended.

In this regard, my question is: Are there plans to resume these projects, and how important is Russia’s participation in international space programmes? Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: You probably understand even better than I do how crucial cooperation is in such a complex, knowledge-intensive sphere as space, where every millimetre is infused with ideas and modern technologies.

Russia has been active – the Soviet Union in its time, and then Russia – in engaging with partners, and until recently, we worked with the Europeans as well. As you noted, interaction has been suspended, though you did not mention on whose initiative – not ours, but at Europe’s initiative.

Incidentally, cooperation with the Americans in space continues. Despite all circumstances, it is still there. The Europeans, however, have chosen to suspend collaboration. That is their decision. But do you know what demonstrates how vital this cooperation is, both for us and for our partners? The fact that, even though our European partners have ceased working with us – practically reducing ties to zero – Russian equipment continues to operate on their stations and facilities, including, I believe, in projects related to the study of Mars, among others. In other words, what we created – whether independently or jointly – still functions to this day. This indicates its importance to them as well. They halted cooperation, yet the instruments were not removed, they are operational.

Regarding collaboration with other countries, such as the United States, as I mentioned, it continues, and Roscosmos maintains contact with NASA. Our first docking mission, if I recall correctly, was in 1975 – Soyuz-19, or whichever Soyuz it was – with Apollo. Since then, cooperation began, which later evolved into the International Space Station. This work continues; we remain in contact with NASA, I reiterate. Incidentally, when Soyuz and Apollo docked – I believe it was in 1975 – there is a particularly noteworthy detail. You may already be aware, but if not, I will recount it. The docking was initially planned to occur over Moscow. In reality, however, it took place over the Elbe. Exactly 30 years prior, Soviet and American troops had met there, delivering the final blow to Nazi Germany. And precisely three decades later, in 1975, the docking of Apollo and Soyuz occurred over the very same Elbe.

Since then, the International Space Station has been created and remains operational. There are now various ideas about how it should conclude its mission and what steps we ought to take next. Nevertheless, I am certain that this work will undoubtedly continue, including with new partners.

We have extensive plans with the People’s Republic of China, – innovative, robust, and truly ambitious ones. This applies broadly to BRICS nations: India, South Africa, and Brazil. Such cooperation cannot and will not cease, as a great many countries are interested in this partnership. Moreover, we have been – and in many areas remain – leaders. Consequently, we hold significant interest for our partners. I am confident this will endure.

Artyom Aikhler: I have a follow-up question regarding international cooperation.

Good afternoon. I am Artyom Aikhler, a second-year student at the Department of Spacecraft and Launch Vehicles established by Sergei Korolev.

I am an active member of the Youth Space Centre, and my dream upon graduation is to work on a crewed Mars mission project.

Do you think this is possible? Are there plans for such a project in Russia?

Vladimir Putin: You know, there is a person who lives in the United States, Elon Musk, who is absolutely obsessed with Mars. Such people are a rare thing for the human civilisation – people who are fixated on a certain idea. Even if this idea may seem incredible at the moment, it can ultimately be realised, just like the visions of Korolev and our space pioneers have been. They sounded impossible, yet some of their plans have been implemented.

A Mars space mission is an extremely complicated project that looks extremely difficult to implement today. You most probably know this because you are interested in the subject. The first problem that must be solved is the length and safety of human spaceflights, not only in near space but also in deep space, as this concerns various volumes, degrees and levels of radiation.

Second, we must address the issue of new methods for information transfer. This is extremely important.

And third, we need to create new power generation devices, including those that humanity would use on Mars missions.

Overall, it is an ambitious and very interesting project. I am confident that it will attract many more supporters.

We have certain plans for the exploration of deep space, including the Moon and Mars. I would like to remind you that we were once the first country to send a robotic probe to Mars. The surface temperature there ranges from 400 to 500 degrees Celsius, yet we achieved it. It seems incredible, but many such projects have been realised. I believe that this project will eventually be implemented as well.

There was a very popular Soviet song, And the apple trees will grow on Mars one day. I am not sure about apple trees, but this is certainly something humanity will aspire to. It is great that you are thinking about this now and planning your participation in such projects.

Today, we will talk about the development plans of Roscosmos, about our space activities and about deep space as well.

Artyom Aikhler: Thank you.

Yegor Vokhminov: Following up on the exploration of Mars, I have a question.

I am from Bauman University’s Plasma Energy Department, which makes this a very interesting topic for me. Exploring deep space is something that truly inspires me, just like many students here. I believe that plasma propulsion engines will enable us to achieve quicker progress and improve energy efficiency.

Mr President, could you tell us whether there will be any support for plasma engine design and manufacturing in the years to come? Will there be any international cooperation on plasma-related research?

Vladimir Putin: Russia is certainly a leader in this sector, even though we could have achieved much more than what we have today. We could have delivered better results by focusing on this topic and making it our priority.

If this is something you are interested in, you probably know that these ideas took shape back in the 1960s and came from what we call the three Ks: Keldysh, Korolev, and Kurchatov. They worked on this subject and made good progress.

Of course, when discussing deep space exploration, our potential partners view working with Russia as an attractive proposition, which is due, among other things, to the know-how we have accumulated in this sector. Fuel discharge rates for plasma engines exceed those of thermal or any other propulsion devices, including electric engines, manyfold, by a factor of several dozen. However, there is a lot of potential in terms of propulsion, moving objects, as well as in terms of energy sources for deep space exploration projects. In fact, this is one of the most promising tracks. We can hardly explore deep space without plasma, which gives us a competitive edge. We will discuss this later today too.

Veronika Kameneva: I have another follow-up question. My name is Veronika, and I am a post-graduate student in charge of the Space Technology track at Bauman University’s Student Design Bureau. Space technology has been my childhood dream, and I finally got an opportunity to work on this subject here. At the same time, I am working on a project to build Zoryanka, a small-scale re-entry module that would enable us to quickly deliver various research samples from orbital stations, as well as from low-Earth orbits. Russia is currently developing its own orbital station which is a very interesting project for carrying out experiments in near-polar orbits.

So here is my question in this connection: Do you think it would be possible for student initiatives to become an integral part of the Russian orbital station project and the national space programme in general?

Vladimir Putin: It is not a question of whether it would be possible or advisable. In fact, this is an imperative. Of course, these initiatives must be competitive and, preferably, stay one step ahead of the competition. I think that over 70 Russian regions – the exact number is 76, if I am not mistaken, and over 200 higher education institutions have created design bureaus of this kind. Perhaps your rector knows the exact number, but it could exceed 600. These units can serve as a vehicle for presenting various solutions and initiatives. But let me reiterate that they must be competitive.

We just had a conversation with one of our colleagues here and he talked about certain aspects of navigation. I asked him about the margin of error. “Several dozen meters,” he answered. But reducing the margin of error down to one metre would be even better, even if this depends on the specific applications – design specifications may vary depending on the purposes. Still, this is a very important point. There are other indicators too. Maybe the developers had different objectives. I just wanted to give you this example to make a point that these solutions must be competitive. Considering the opportunities that Bauman University offers you, I think that you have everything it takes to be competitive. We will do everything to support your ideas and facilitate making your ideas a reality in the future, as well as right now. My advice would be not to wait until the Russian station is launched.

Veronika Kameneva: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: You are welcome. Thank you for your idea.

Ivan Zaichkin: Mr President, if I may pick up on the subject of competitive solutions.

My name is Ivan Zaichkin. I am a sixth-year student at the Space Crafts and Booster Rockets department.

In 2017, I presented to you the first satellite I designed at the Sirius Educational Centre. I was a school student at that time.

Vladimir Putin: I vividly remember. (Laughter.) You said the year was 2017, right?

Ivan Zaichkin: Yes, 2017.

The satellite was launched in 2018 and worked well.

Vladimir Putin: You even managed to launch it? Great. Congratulations.

Ivan Zaichkin: It has now burnt up in the atmosphere after fulfilling all its objectives. What I wanted to say is that this project continues. The six years I have been studying at this university…

Vladimir Putin: You were in Sirius and then went on to enrol at Bauman University?

Ivan Zaichkin: Yes, I have been to Sirius twice and then went on to enrol at Bauman University to continue my studies in this field.

Vladimir Putin: What school did you attend when you went to Sirius?

Ivan Zaichkin: I studied at the Vtoraya Shkola lyceum.

Vladimir Putin: Great.

The fact that you were part of the Sirius project is especially pleasing for me, since I am no stranger to this initiative.

Ivan Zaichkin: This is a very important place that has changed the lives of so many people. Many of us continue working on the same things, focusing on specific sectors and contributing to their development. This is my case.

I continued to evolve in this sector as a university student. During my time here, I developed systems for eight devices created by Bauman University, and Roscosmos launched them into space as part of the UniverSat programme. This is how we not only created something new, but also acquired hands-on experience in developing new hardware that engineers will need, and we did all this as students.

Vladimir Putin: What do the devices you designed do?

Ivan Zaichkin: You heard a presentation about our devices in the room you visited before coming here. We study space meteorology…

Vladimir Putin: Do you mean that you were the one who made this device?

Ivan Zaichkin: Yes, I developed the communications system for it.

Vladimir Putin: Great.

Ivan Zaichkin: Unfortunately, the programme for launching university devices expires this year.

Vladimir Putin: We must extend it.

Ivan Zaichkin: This is what we wanted to ask you, Mr President.

Mikhail Gordin: Student satellites are launched for free as a hitchhiker payload …

Vladimir Putin: Well, we still need to extend the programme.

Ivan Zaichkin: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Denis Voropanov: Good afternoon, Mr President.

I am Denis Voropanov, a student of the joint-degree programme in project management for the cryogenic propulsion system design at the Advanced Engineering School.

In 2024, I was selected for on-site training organised on the basis of TsENKI Centre for Operation of Space Ground-Based Infrastructure Facilities at the Yuzhny Space Centre of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The main thing that experience has taught me is that even the most challenging and ambitious goals can be achieved when professionals from different fields pool their knowledge and enthusiasm.

Here is my question. Do you think that grants could be allocated for on-site training at our key space launch facilities, such as Baikonur and Vostochny, to encourage young people’s interest in space research?

Vladimir Putin: I do not know how this is being done, but, since you have had this on-site training, this programme is supported by Roscosmos and other concerned organisations.

This must certainly be done to continue to generate interest, so that our young people, to whom the future belongs, have access to better vocational guidance and can choose professions they are best suited for. We must certainly do this.

I will discuss this issue with the Roscosmos head, who was born at Baikonur, by the way, as he has recently told me. In other words, I believe that such on-site training can be organised at the Vostochny and Baikonur space launch facilities, and also at the Defence Ministry’s launch site. Why not, indeed? Yes, this should certainly be done, especially since your topics are quite frequently dual-purpose ones, well, nearly all of them are dual-purpose. So, why not? This must be done by all means. I will discuss this issue with my colleagues, agreed?

As for funding, this should not be a problem in this case, because it is not something like, say, a Mars mission.

Nikita Korshakov: My name is Nikita Korshakov. I will deviate from the issue of space exploration a bit. I am a post-graduate student at Bauman University and also a junior research fellow at the Dukhov Automatics Research Institute.

In our new Quantum Park cluster on the Bauman University campus, I am working on superconducting quantum processors for supercomputers and new-generation data storage and processing centres.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I have been briefed on this issue.

Nikita Korshakov: Yes, our exposition was part of that exhibition.

What are we doing this for? The use of quantum technologies will help accelerate and enhance our country’s development in various fields of science and technology, as well as in space exploration projects, more effectively. This will strengthen our country’s positions in high-tech and innovations spheres on the global stage.

What do you think about the prospects for the development and implementation of quantum technologies in Russia? What steps do we need to take to achieve technological leadership in this area?

Vladimir Putin: You know best what we need to take. You tell me.

We are clearly on the same page as to how critical this is, as the rector just mentioned it, and you just said so yourself.

In fact, we began research and development in this field a long time ago, and we are applying the results – (Addressing Andrei Fursenko) are we now, Mr Fursenko? We are applying them in many sectors today. I have no doubt that we should step up this effort, drawing on the advantages that quantum technologies offer, just like artificial intelligence, using them on a wider scale to achieve our technological development goals. We will definitely do this, there is no doubt about that.

Russian Railways is now active in…

Nikita Korshakov: Russian Railways, Rosatom, Sber.

Vladimir Putin: These are all large companies with strong financial base. But the state will provide support too. We will do this, no doubt. And good luck to you.

Mikhail Gordin: Mr President, we have a tradition. Dmitry Sulegin is Vice-Rector for Educational Work, and he will tell us about it.

Dmitry Sulegin: Mr President,

We at Bauman University love and honour our values and traditions and are dedicated to passing them on from generation to generation, because we believe they are essential to fostering proper engineers.

I would like to spend a minute talking about one of our traditions. When students at our university defend their final graduation projects, they wear white helmets as a token of their new qualification and pride in being certified as engineers. After the ceremony, they go around asking their friends, favourite professors and mentors who supported them during their student years, to sign their names on that helmet.

Our students and I have prepared a small gift for you from our university – a Bauman University helmet with the signatures of all our top students. Allow us to present it to you.

And Mr President, could we please keep your helmet as a memento? It will take a deserving place as a memory of your visit.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.