Russia's Luna-25 Spacecraft Crashes on Moon After Uncontrolled Orbit: Roscosmos Confirms Impact on Lunar Surface"
Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft, launched with the ambition of becoming the first to touch down on the moon's south pole, suffered a crash as it spiraled into an uncontrollable orbit, as confirmed by the nation's Roscosmos space agency on Sunday.
This unmanned lunar module had a groundbreaking mission – to explore the uncharted terrain of the moon's southern polar region, where scientists suspect significant deposits of frozen water and valuable materials could be concealed. The anticipated landing was scheduled for Monday.
However, Roscosmos revealed that contact with Luna-25 was severed on Saturday after the spacecraft grappled with unexpected complications and signaled an "abnormal situations."
In a statement from the agency, it was disclosed, "The spacecraft entered an unforeseen trajectory and met its end by colliding with the moon's surface."
Luna-25 was embroiled in a tight race against an Indian spacecraft, launched on July 14, both vying to be the inaugural entities to touch down at the moon's southern pole. Their respective arrivals were anticipated between August 21 and 23.
Marking Russia's first lunar endeavor since 1976, during the era of the Soviet Union, this mission sought to add another achievement to the moon-landing roster, which only encompasses the Soviet Union, the United States, and China.
The moon's southern polar region holds special allure for researchers, who speculate that its shadowed craters may house frozen water in the rocks – a potential resource for future spacefarers to convert into breathable air and rocket propellant.
A prior Indian endeavor to reach the same lunar locale in 2019 ended in failure, as the spacecraft crash-landed on the moon's surface.
Roscosmos conveyed its aspiration to showcase Russia's prowess in delivering payloads to the lunar surface and to cement its assured access to this celestial body. The space agency's ambitions, however, have been challenged by sanctions stemming from Russia's involvement in Ukraine, which has impacted its access to Western space technology.
Originally intended to carry a small moon rover, Luna-25's design underwent modifications to enhance reliability by reducing its weight, according to analysts.
The spacecraft's liftoff took place from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, situated in Russia's Far East, on August 10. This spaceport represents a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin, forming a key pillar of his vision to elevate Russia's standing as a space superpower.
0 Comments