The Luna-25, the first Russian lunar lander in almost half a century, was unable to enter the pre-landing orbit of the Moon as planned before it attempted its touchdown. The spacecraft was launched by Russia the previous week, putting it in a race against NASA and other space organizations. According to prior statements made by Roscosmos, it was supposed to touch down on the Moon’s south pole on August 21.
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Although it was renamed Luna 25 to highlight the continuation of the Soviet Luna program from the 1970s, it is still a component of what was at one point conceived of as the Luna-Glob lunar exploration program.
According to a statement released by the Russian space organization Roscosmos, the emergency circumstance that prevented the maneuver from being successful meant that the robotic spacecraft was unable to enter orbit on Saturday as planned. It was said that the group is conducting an investigation into the matter, but no additional information has been provided yet.
The Russian space agency is responsible for sending the first lunar probe, known as Luna 25, to the Moon. If it had been successful, it would have been the very first craft to arrive on the lunar South Pole. There is a great deal of competition among space-faring nations, particularly the United States and China, to claim ownership of the lunar south pole. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft from India, for example, is now circling the Moon and is scheduled to make an attempt at landing this week somewhere close to the Moon’s pole.
The launch was conducted on a Soyuz-2 rocket on the 10th of August, 2023, and the probe reached lunar orbit on the 16th of August. The probe was intended to land on the Moon on the 21st of August. Unfortunately, nothing of the kind happened. As soon as the Russian space agency makes its decision about what will come next, further information regarding the Luna-25 lander will be made accessible.
