On Sunday, the 20th of August, following an uncontrolled orbit, Russia’s unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft experienced a crash landing on the Moon, according to officials, reports BBC.
The spacecraft reportedly failed after encountering problems entering a descent orbit.
The craft was aiming was to explore the Moon’s south pole because scientists believe frozen water and precious elements could be found there.
Yesterday, the 20th of August, Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos announced that the Luna-25 spacecraft lost connection shortly after 14:57 PM on Saturday, the 19th of August. The corporation reported that preliminary analyses showed that the 800kg lander “ceased to exist as a result of contact with the Moon surface”. The report also said that a special commission would investigate why the mission failed.
Russia is said to be competing with India, whose spacecraft
Chandrayaan-3 plans to land there in the coming days to explore rocks and craters, collecting data and images to send back to Earth.
A spokesman for the Indian space agency Isro told the BBC that the Luna-25 accident was unfortunate, that every space mission is risky and complicated. Roscosmos has also previously admitted that the Luna-25 mission is risky and could fail.
According to the BBC, the spacecraft was launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on the 11th of August and successfully entered lunar orbit on Wednesday, the 16th of August.
Anticipated to create a historical milestone, the mission aimed for a gentle touchdown on Monday or Tuesday, as no nation had previously achieved a successful landing at the South Pole of the Moon.
Luna-25 marked Russia’s inaugural lunar mission since 1976. With a shift of state funds towards military endeavours, the country’s civil space program has been facing a gradual decline over the years. Therefore, the failure of Luna-25 represents a significant setback for Roscosmos.
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