On Sunday, Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, confirmed a significant setback in its lunar exploration efforts. The Luna-25 mission, Russia’s first…
On Sunday, Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, confirmed a significant setback in its lunar exploration efforts. The Luna-25 mission, Russia’s first moon venture in nearly five decades, tragically ended with a crash landing on the Moon.
This incident followed a mandatory report from Roscosmos just the day before, indicating issues during Luna-25’s transition into its intended pre-landing orbit. The unmanned spacecraft, originally destined for a gentle touch-down at the Moon’s southern pole, faced complications while maneuvering into the pre-landing orbit.
Russia had high hopes for this lunar endeavor, envisioning Luna-25 spending a year on the Moon’s surface, gathering samples of lunar rock and dust. The scheduled landing was mere hours away when the space corporation lost contact with the craft. The last-known images sent back by Luna-25 showcased the lunar landscape, including the third-deepest crater in the Moon’s southern hemisphere, known as the Zeeman crater.
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They believe the lunar south pole’s perpetually shadowed craters hold frozen water reserves, which has long captivated scientists. This water, if harnessed, might serve as a valuable resource for generating both breathable air and rocket fuel. This, in turn, could pave the way for extended human expeditions beyond Earth’s orbit.
Roscosmos reported that a preliminary analysis indicated a deviation from the calculated parameters during an impulse maneuver, causing Luna-25 to veer off course. Ultimately, this deviation led to the craft’s catastrophic collision with the lunar surface, marking a somber conclusion to Russia’s lunar return mission.
Earlier on, there were already concerns about Luna-25’s journey as it struggled with shunting into the pre-landing orbit. Russian media had even speculated about the possibility of the lunar craft being lost. This unexpected outcome serves as a stark reminder of the formidable challenges that space exploration entails, even for experienced players in the field like Russia.
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