Russian probe successfully enters lunar orbit – 08/16/2023 – Science

The first lunar probe launched by Russia in almost half a century successfully entered the Moon’s orbit on Wednesday (16), Russian space agency Roscosmos announced.

“For the first time in contemporary Russian history, an automatic station was placed in lunar orbit at 12:03 Moscow time” (6:03 am Brasília time), said the press office of Roscosmos.

The launch of the Luna-25 module is the first Russian mission to the Moon since 1976, a time when the former Soviet Union was at the forefront of space conquest.

“All systems on Luna-25 function normally. Communication with her is stable,” said the same source.

The operation was carried out with the help of the probe’s engine, which was activated twice from 11:57 am (Moscow time), the first time for 243 seconds and the second for 76, the agency detailed.

The Luna-25 probe will orbit about 100 kilometers from the surface before its landing in the Boguslawsky crater, at the south pole, scheduled for Monday (21), added Roscosmos.

Last Sunday (13), the cameras installed in the module sent their first photographs taken in space. In the images, it is possible to see part of the probe and, in the background, the Earth and the Moon.

The Soyuz rocket that propelled this 800-kilogram probe took off from the Vostochni space base in Russia’s far east on Aug. Over the course of a year, Luna-25 will sample and analyze lunar soil.

The mission seeks to give new impetus to Russia’s space sector, which is struggling with innovation and lack of funding, as well as being rocked by corruption scandals and isolated by the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to continue the space program despite sanctions, stressing that the USSR sent the first man into space in 1961 amid tensions with the West.