Russia's first Moon mission fails as Luna-25 spacecraft lost in a crash
Russia's first Moon mission fails as Luna-25 spacecraft lost in a crash (Getty Images)
The first-ever Russian mission to the Moon ended in failure. The Luna-25 spacecraft collided with the Moon, according to Russian propagandist media RIA Novosti.
On August 20, Russian state space corporation Roscosmos announced that the Luna-25 station had entered an unstable orbit and collided with the Moon, marking the end of the mission.
On the evening of August 19, Roscosmos announced that an emergency situation had occurred during the station's transition to its pre-landing orbit, so the maneuver was not performed as planned.
Russian media had speculated about the possibility of the spacecraft's crash, which has now been officially confirmed today.
The automated Luna-25 spacecraft represented Russia's first lunar mission in modern history. The previous Luna-24 was launched by the USSR in 1976.
The launch of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket took place on August 11 from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Russian mission was intended to land in the southern polar region of the Moon, where signs of water ice had been detected.
In July, India launched the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft to the Moon. It is expected to land on the Moon on August 23 or 24.
Meanwhile, NASA postponed its plans for astronaut moon landings, likely to occur around the end of 2025 or 2026.
Ukraine had also been preparing for its inaugural moon mission, scheduled for 2022. However, due to the Russian invasion, this mission did not occur.
