Russia identifies security as space program's top priority

One of the main priorities of Russia's space program is to ensure the security of the country, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Monday.

In an interview with Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy, Rogozin listed three major priorities of the country's space program.

"There are three main priorities: the first one is a military task. Safety is always one of the first priorities. The second task is about science: the study of deep space, exploring the danger of asteroids and comets," Rogozin said.

The third priority is an "age-old question of mankind: if we are alone in the Universe, or we are not," he said.

On the possible threat brought by asteroids to Earth, Rogozin said that Russia doesn't think about how to destroy the asteroids, "we are talking about the impact on the asteroid to change its trajectory."

"Technologically, we are very far from this task ... but we think about it," he said. Endi