ERROR: 🚩GM Ruling:
From a realistic standpoint, that budget is far too low for actual lunar operations. However, within the context of a story or simulation involving a regime like Dagestan, you have two strong narrative paths:
Propaganda: The regime could be publicly “launching” a lunar program to instill national pride, despite the math not adding up. In this case, the €$ 13.8M might be presented as a “breakthrough investment,” while the actual mission is either a simulation, a media fabrication, or a repurposed high-altitude balloon marketed as a “satellite.”
Strategic Partnerships: To make a moon mission technically plausible for a small economy, the country would likely act as a “piggyback” partner. They might contribute a tiny, low-cost CubeSat (which can cost under $1M) to be launched as secondary cargo on a rocket from a major space power like China, Russia, or a private corporation.
This way, the regime gets the headline of being “Moon-bound” without needing a trillion-dollar infrastructure.
