As The Spacecraft Collides With The Moon, Russia’s Luna-25 Mission Failed
After Spinning Out Of Control And Colliding With The Moon, Russia’s Luna-25 Spacecraft Was Unable To Complete Its Mission.
It Is The Most Recent Failure In Spaceflight For A Country That, As The Soviet Union, Was The First To Launch A Satellite, A Man, And Later A Woman Into Orbit During The Cold War.
The Luna-25 Lander, Launched By Russia For The First Time Since The 1970s Into Lunar Orbit, Was Scheduled To Touch Down As Soon As Monday. According To Roscosmos, The Russian Space Agency, The Spacecraft Was Given The Go-Ahead To Enter An Orbit That Would Prepare It For A Lunar Landing On Saturday Afternoon, Moscow Time. However, An Unknown “Emergency Situation” Developed, Preventing The Orbital Adjustment From Taking Place.
Roscosmos Announced On Sunday That Efforts To Locate And Make Contact With The Craft Had Been Unsuccessful. When The Adjustment Failed, Luna-25 Departed From Its Intended Orbit And “Ceased To Exist As A Result Of A Collision With The Lunar Surface,” According To NASA.
The Goal Of Luna-25, Which Lifted Off On August 11, Was To Be The First Mission To Reach The South Polar Zone Of The Moon. That Region Of The Moon Is Of Interest To Government Space Programs And Private Businesses Because They Think It Might Have Water Ice That Astronauts Could Use In The Future For Space Journeys.
Eye On India
Now India Will Get The Chance To Place The First Spacecraft Near The Lunar South Pole. Its Chandrayaan-3 Mission Was Launched In July, And A Landing Attempt Is Planned For This Coming Wednesday.
For President Vladimir V. Putin, Who Has Touted Russian Triumphs In Space As Integral To His Grasp On Power, The Possibility That India Might Succeed After Russia Fails Would Be A Setback.