[JSteff]

"What did they hope to achieve visiting a totally inhospitable planet 10 times? No wonder they lost the cold war.

Did they want to invade it, move to it, use it for a new gulag? What?

[Central Scrutiniser]

They sent several craft to Mars as well, only one transmitted from the surface, but malfunctioned in about one minute. They did a few moon landers, including one that landed and returned soil to earth. But, they did do a few smart things, they developed very reliable manned rocket, as well as a great heavy lift rocket the Energiya. And they were smart enough to kill the Buran, the Shuttle that they didn't need.