Is the MARPOST (Mars Piloted Orbital Station) mission still in the works?

Question

The Russian MARPOST plan in its simplest form, to me, sounds like a great idea: Establish a manned orbital presence around Mars before deploying humans to the surface.

The Wikipedia article says that the plan was to have the design ready by 2012 and the ship ready by 2021, but it has no current information.

Is this mission still in the works or has it been canned? If it is still going, is it on schedule?

Why hasn't this sort of plan been considered by others? If it has, why hasn't it caught on?

Answer 1

Wikipedia article says

but the wikipedia itself is not "reliable source" of information.

I will try to list several sources about MARPOST (russian МАРПОСТ) here. 4 sources from wiki article:

• RIA 03/2005: RUSSIA SUGGESTS MANNED MARTIAN-MISSION PLAN: "It will take 10 - 12 years to implement the MARPOST project with annual expenses totaling nearly USD 1.5 billion"; no exact dates or the prjoect
• Huff.Post 10/2009 Russia Hopes To Fly Humans To Mars With Nuclear Spaceship: "Perminov said the preliminary design could be ready by 2012, and then it would take nine more years and cost 17 billion rubles (about $600 million, or euro400 million) to build the ship." (Article doesn't name the project "MARPOST", only saying about "...the nuclear spaceship should be used for human flights to Mars...")
• (ru) "Независимая газета" (lit "Independent Newspaper"), 01/2005 «Сердце» марсианского корабля (Heart of the martian spacecraft) - discussing Electric (powered by Solar panels) and nuclear engines, again the project doesn't named MARPOST.
• (ru book from 07/2006) Пилотируемая экспедиция на Марс/ Под ред. А.С. Коротеева. — М.: Российская академия космонавтики им. К.Э. Циолковского, 2006, 320 с, илл., 1000 экземпляров /somebody should update link on Wikipedia/ - "Излагается современный Российский проект пилотируемой экспедиции на Марс — «МЭК»." (The modern Russian project of manned expedition to Mars - "MEK" is presented)

So, next proposed manned martian mission is "MEK" ("Межпланетный Экспедиционный Комплекс" = "Mezhplanetniy Ekspeditsioniy Komplex", Interplanetary Expeditionary Complex). There were no news about MARPOST in 2010-2013 in russian segment of internet (The Runet), but there are several news about "Межпланетный Экспедиционный Комплекс":

• RIA, 08/2010 На околоземной орбите построят межпланетный экспедиционный комплекс (Interplanetary Expeditionary Complex will be built at near-earth orbit): "Разрабатываемая РКК "Энергия" концепция развития космической деятельности на Марсе в период до 2040 года предполагает создание пилотируемого межпланетного экспедиционного комплекса (МЭК) непосредственно на околоземной орбите" (The concept of development space activity on Mars /and Moon/ in period up to 2040, which is developing in RKK Energiya, suggests building manned Interplanetary Expeditionary Complex on the orbit of Earth). The newspost cites next article:
• 07/2010, "Космическая миссия поколений XXI века" (V.A. Lopota. Space Mission Of 21st Century Generations) from magazine "Полёт" pages 3-12. Launch and flight testing of nuclear reactor for various missions, including IEC, was planned to start in 2020.

Martian mission concept on the website of RKK Energiya (http://www.energia.ru/english/energia/mars/concept.html - FEATURES OF RSC ENERGIA'S MARTIAN MISSION CONCEPT) lists no any dates.