Luna-25: Russia launches lunar mission again after 47 years – 08/10/2023 – Science

Russia on Friday night launched its first lunar landing spacecraft since 1976, according to news agencies.

At the same time as it is engaged in the Ukraine War, the country is also racing against India to reach the south pole of the Moon, a potential source of water to sustain a future human presence on Earth’s natural satellite.

The launch at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, 5,550 kilometers east of Moscow, took place four weeks after India sent its Chandrayaan-3 lunar module, with landing scheduled for the 23rd of this month.

Russian space agency Roscosmos told Reuters that its Luna-25 spacecraft will take five days to fly to the Moon and then spend 5-7 days in lunar orbit before landing at 1 of 3 possible landing sites – a timeline that suggests that could match or narrowly beat its Indian rival on the surface of the Moon.

Roscosmos said the two missions would not interfere with each other because they have different landing areas planned.

“There is no danger that they will interfere or collide. There is enough space for everyone on the Moon,” he said.
Chandrayaan-3 is expected to carry out experiments for two weeks, while Luna-25 will work on the Moon for a year.

With a mass of 1.8 tonnes and carrying 31 kilograms of scientific equipment, Luna-25 will use a shovel to collect rock samples up to 15 cm deep to test for the presence of water ice that could support human life.

Luna-24, the last Soviet mission to the Moon, brought soil samples from the satellite back to Earth.

The launch takes place amid a context of isolation of the country’s space program, as Roscosmos is vetoed by western powers and seeks cooperation in the sector with China.

Independent Russian analyst Vitali Yegorov said the mission was a test for Moscow. “The most important question is: can you land on the moon?” he told AFP.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin compared the current moment to the context of the Cold War and the USSR sending the first man into space Yuri Gagarin in 1961 amid tensions with the West. The space program is a source of pride in Russia. In addition to Gagarin, the country launched the first satellite into orbit, Sputnik, and the first animal into orbit with the mission of the dog Laika.

There is an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against Putin for war crimes committed in the Ukraine War.

At the current time, space operations are struggling with innovation and a lack of funding as Moscow prioritizes military spending. In addition, the sector was shaken by corruption scandals and launch failures, in addition to competition from the United States, China and private companies, such as SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

SCRATCHS

In June of this year, the director of Roscosmos, Iuri Borisov, classified the mission as risky.

“Around the world, the possibility of success of this type of mission is estimated at 70%,” Borisov said in a meeting with Putin.

Authorities in the Khabarovsk region announced the evacuation of the town of Shakhtinsky, considering that the municipality is in a place where the first floor of the rocket launcher could fall.