Luna-25, the first Russian lunar mission in nearly 50 years, entered an erroneous orbit on Friday and crashed into the Moon on Saturday. The unmanned spacecraft’s objective was to be the first to touch down on the moon’s south pole. According to scientists, that region may contain precious components and significant amounts of frozen water. The landing was expected to occur on Monday.
However, the Luna-25 mission reported a loss of contact on Saturday with the occurrence of technical difficulties and the notification of an “abnormal situation.”
According to the agency’s official statement, the object took an erratic trajectory before colliding with the lunar surface and causing destruction.
The lander portion of India’s Chandrayaan-3 project was the only other spacecraft competing. Both were competing to make the first lunar landing.
Why did this unfortunate event occur?
According to the Russian space agency, the lunar probe was meant to enter the landing orbit following a boost for descent. But its course changed, and it wound up in an unexpected orbit.
An emergency aboard the automatic station occurred during the operation, making it impossible to perform the manoeuvre under the given circumstances. At around 2:57 p.m. Decree time, the link with the Luna-25 autonomous lunar probe was lost, according to Roscosmos, which added that all attempts to make contact again were unsuccessful.
The Luna-25 spacecraft was destroyed when it impacted the moon’s surface, according to the agency. According to the statement, preliminary analysis findings indicate that a discrepancy between the observed and computed parameters of the propulsion manoeuvre resulted in the Luna-25 spacecraft entering an unintended orbital trajectory.
In the interim, the government is investigating possible causes of the incident.
Since 1976, when it was still a member of the Soviet Union, Russia has not been to the moon. China, the United States, and the Soviet Union have all managed to make successful moon landings.
Why does the moon’s south pole intrigue experts?
Because they believe that the continuously darkened polar craters may have frozen water in the rocks that future explorers could use to generate air and rocket fuel, the scientific community exhibits a notable level of curiosity about the lunar south pole.
The Indian spacecraft that attempted to touch down at the south pole in 2019 crashed onto the moon’s surface.
Roscosmos claimed it sought to “guarantee Russia’s access to the surface of the moon” and demonstrate that Russia “is a state that can send a payload to the moon.”
Russia has been subject to sanctions since it began intervening in Ukraine, which have harmed its space project and made it more difficult for it to acquire Western technologies.
According to analysts, the Luna-25 was originally intended to carry a small moon rover, but that idea was dropped in favour of making the vehicle lighter and more dependable.
The spacecraft launched on August 10 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Far East of Russia. The spaceport is a favourite project of Russian President Vladimir Putin and an essential element of his strategy to establish Russia as a space power.
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