Race for resources on the Moon has begun, says head of Roscosmos – 08/21/2023 – Science

The race to explore and develop resources on the Moon is on, and Russia must continue to participate in that race. The statement was given this Monday (21) by the director general of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, despite the failure of the country’s first lunar mission in 47 years.

Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the satellite after a problem preparing for pre-landing orbit, underscoring the post-Soviet decline of a once mighty space program.

The head of the space agency, looking downcast during an interview with state-run Rossiya 24 TV station, said it was in the country’s interest to remain committed to lunar exploration. Interrupting the program, in his opinion, would be the worst decision.

“It’s not just about the country’s prestige and achieving some geopolitical goals. It’s about securing defensive capabilities and achieving technological sovereignty,” Borisov said in his first public comments after the loss of the Luna-25 spacecraft.

“Today, it also has practical value because, of course, the race to develop lunar natural resources has begun. And in the future, the Moon will become a platform for deep space exploration, an ideal platform.”

For him, the first probe launched by Russia to the Moon since 1976 collided with Earth’s natural satellite mainly because the country “interrupted its space exploration program for almost 50 years”.

“The incalculable experience accumulated by our predecessors in the 1960s and 1970s has been completely lost, and the transfer of knowledge between generations has not taken place,” lamented Borisov.

The collision happened because one of the spacecraft’s engines failed to shut down as scheduled during a maneuver to land on the lunar surface. The engine ran for 127 seconds instead of 84.

A space commission was formed to investigate the exact causes of what happened, added the director general.

The accident comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to continue his country’s space program to maintain its leadership position, taking as an example the Soviet Union’s sending the first man into space in 1961.

Russia has said it will launch new moon missions and then explore the possibility of a joint Russia-China manned mission and even a moon base.

NASA, from the United States, has already spoken about a “lunar gold rush” and about the potential of mining on Earth’s natural satellite.