Russia’s first Mission to Moon after 47 years ended into disappointment, as Luna-25 crashed on to Moon surface.
The successful Launch of Soyuz 2.1b rocket carrying Luna-25 from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia.
Russia’s ambitious lunar mission, the Luna-25 probe, has faced a tragic end as it crashed on the Moon’s surface during pre-landing maneuvers, the Russian space agency Roscosmos confirmed on Sunday. The crash follows a loss of communication with the probe at 2:57 p.m. (11:57 GMT) on Saturday.
Preliminary findings suggest that the lander’s collision with the Moon’s surface has led to its obliteration. Efforts made on August 19 and 20 to re-establish contact with the craft were unsuccessful, leaving the space agency to announce the termination of Luna-25’s mission. A ministerial investigation has been initiated to ascertain the underlying causes of the crash, although specific technical problems remain undisclosed.
The Luna-25 spacecraft, which was launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Russian Far East on August 10, encountered complications during its transition from a circular orbit approximately 100km above the lunar surface into a pre-landing orbit. This critical maneuver resulted in a loss of communication and an alteration in the spacecraft’s trajectory.
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, described the situation as an “emergency situation,” revealing that the intended orbit-reduction maneuver was not completed as planned. The impulse meant to trigger the transition veered the spacecraft off course, pushing it onto an unintended orbit trajectory. In a statement, Roscosmos explained, “Due to the deviation of the actual parameters of the impulse from the calculated ones, the Luna-25 spacecraft moved to a non-calculated orbit.”
The Luna-25, weighing 800-kilogram probe was scheduled to execute a soft landing on the Moon’s south pole on August 21, just 2 days before the Chandrayaan-3 mission by India. Both missions targeted the region around the Moon’s south pole.
Chandrayaan-3, undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has successfully moved into its pre-landing orbit of 25 km x 134 km from the lunar surface. This places Chandrayaan-3 on track for its scheduled landing attempt, set to occur on Wednesday.
The Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module is projected to initiate its descent around 1745 IST on Wednesday, with an anticipated touchdown following approximately 15 minutes later. ISRO has affirmed that Chandrayaan-3’s systems are functioning optimally as it awaits sunrise at the designated lunar landing site.
Only three countries so far, the United States, Russia and China have been able to land on moon’s surface till today, it will be interesting to see can India’s Chandrayaan-3 make India fourth nation in list.
