Russia hopes to return to the Moon for the first time in nearly fifty years. The launch, which is scheduled for the early hours of Friday (August 11), is Russia’s first since 1976. A Soyuz rocket had been assembled at the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Russian Far East for the launch of the Luna-25 lander. The four-legged lander, which weighs around 800 kilogrammes, is expected to touch down in the region of the lunar south pole.
The launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome, 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow, will take place four weeks after India sent up its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander which is set to touch down at the pole on August 23.
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, has outlined an ambitious timeline for its Luna-25 spacecraft. The craft is slated to embark on a five-day journey to the Moon, followed by 5-7 days in lunar orbit, culminating in a descent to one of three potential landing sites near the Moon’s south pole. This carefully calculated timetable suggests that Russia could potentially match or narrowly surpass Chandrayaan-3’s lunar touchdown.
Navigating the challenging terrain of the moon’s south pole poses a formidable challenge. However, this region holds immense scientific interest due to its speculated abundance of ice—a resource with vast implications. This ice could potentially serve as a reservoir for fuel, oxygen, and drinking water, thereby bolstering future lunar habitation endeavours.
Space for Everyone
Roscosmos said the two missions would not get in each other’s way because they have different landing areas planned.”There is no danger that they interfere with each other or collide. There is enough space for everyone on the moon,” it said.Chandrayaan-3, meticulously designed to conduct experiments over a two-week span, pales in comparison to Luna-25’s ambitious one-year lunar engagement. Luna-25, boasting a weight of 1.8 tonnes and carrying 31 kg (68 pounds) of cutting-edge scientific instrumentation, will employ a scoop mechanism to extract rock samples from depths of up to 15 cm (6 inches). The goal is to ascertain the presence of frozen water—a fundamental precursor to sustaining human existence beyond Earth.
The inaugural launch date, initially set for October 2021, endured a postponement of nearly two years. Complicating matters, the European Space Agency withdrew its involvement in the Luna-25 project after Russia’s incursion into Ukraine in February of the previous year. Despite the geopolitical complexities, the upcoming lunar missions represent a remarkable stride forward in humanity’s quest to unlock the secrets of the Moon and prepare for potential lunar colonisation.
With agency inputs