Following hard after forays to claim the North Pole as its Soyuznational territory, Russia policymakers are setting their sights on destinations decidedly farther afield. Next stop: the Moon.

The head of Russian agency Roscosmos outlined a new set of long-range goals for the country's space program Friday, with goals that seem to rekindle a certain... shall we say ... competitive aspect in relation to the U.S. and other spacefaring nations.

According to news wire AFP, the first steps involve finishing its section of the International Space Station (ISS) by 2015, and moving from there to manned missions to the Moon and Mars.

"According to our estimates we will be ready for a manned flight to the Moon in 2025," Anatoly Perminov told reporters. An "inhabited station" could be built there between 2027 and 2032, he said.

Manned Mars missions could come after 2035, he added.

Russian wire service Itar-Tass adds another ambition: Policymakers want a system of anti-asteroid protection by 2026, in time to deal with the Apophis asteroid that will come dangerously near Earth in 2029, and again in 2036 (and seems to be much in the news today).

Nor are the regular folk - or at least the extraordinarily rich regular folk - being left out the plan. The first Russian space tourist will get a ride up to the ISS in 2009, for the low, low price of $25 million, Perminov reportedly said. By that time, four U.S. citizens and a South African will have preceded him. But no names yet, according to Reuters:

"All I can say is that it's a serious, respectable person, a businessman and politician. Also young," he said.