New Delhi: The Russian Luna-25 spacecraft, which was intended for a gentle landing at the moon’s south pole, crashed on the lunar surface on Sunday, according to Roscosmos. According to the Russian Space Agency, Luna-25 crashed on the surface because of a discrepancy between the spacecraft’s actual and predicted parameters during a propulsion manoeuvre.
On Saturday, Luna-25 was positioned in its pre-landing orbit when it experienced a fatal glitch just after a crucial manoeuvre. Roskosmos said in a statement that the space agency had lost touch with the spacecraft at a crucial point in the mission.
According to the mission plan for Luna-25, an impulse to place it in an elliptical pre-landing orbit was scheduled to be sent on August 19, Roskosmos stated. At about 14:57 Moscow Time, they lost contact with the spacecraft. Attempts to locate and communicate on August 19 and 20 were unsuccessful.
BREAKING: Russia’s #Luna25 moon lander has crashed on the lunar surface. Official statement confirms. A sad day for science & the Roscosmos team, very much like it was for ISRO/Chandrayaan-2 in 2019. Now all eyes on India’s Vikram, scheduled to land on Aug 23 @ 5.45pm. pic.twitter.com/RdMHfsYd7x
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) August 20, 2023
Roskosmos formally announced the tragic end of the Luna-25 mission, explaining that the apparatus entered an unstable orbit and eventually disintegrated after colliding with the Moon’s surface. The international scientific and space communities have been taken aback by this sudden and unexpected termination. It is also a major blow to Russia’s space exploration objectives.
BIG BREAKING ⚡⚡#Russia Moon Lander #Luna25 has Crashed into the Moon Surface 🌖#Russia 🇷🇺 1st Moon mission in 47 Years failed after reports emerged on Saturday about failure confirm Russia Space agency Roscosmos 😢😐 pic.twitter.com/TXNlpcG29X
— Vivek Singh (@VivekSi85847001) August 20, 2023
Roscosmos has said that an interdepartmental commission has been established to investigate the loss.
After almost five decades since the last successful Soviet lunar trip, Roskosmos had initially framed the Luna-25 mission as a major turning point in Russia’s space exploration story. This catastrophe has not only put a halt to these plans but has also sparked discussions about the difficulties and unknowns that space organisations confront when attempting ambitious projects of this scale.
