Image: (APA/AFP/Russian Space Agency Roscosmos/HANDOUT)
The “Luna-25” probe had hit the lunar surface after an “unplanned situation” and had ceased to exist, the Russian space agency Roskosmos announced on Sunday in Moscow. The reasons for the loss of the probe would be clarified, it said. A commission will be set up for this purpose. The first spacecraft since 1979 was supposed to land on the moon’s south pole this Monday.
The proud space nation wanted to show that despite the war against Ukraine and the sanctions imposed by the West, it is still capable of scientific excellence. After the successful launch of the probe on August 11, Russian politicians emphasized that the country would not be defeated.
On Saturday, Roskosmos initially reported an unexpected incident. The probe was scheduled to enter a new orbit of the Earth’s satellite at 2:10 p.m. Moscow time (1:10 p.m. CEST) on Saturday, in preparation for imminent touchdown on the lunar surface. “During the operation, an unscheduled situation arose on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be carried out under the given parameters,” it said.
“Luna-25” was part of the Russian lunar program, which envisages the construction of its own space station on the celestial body by 2040. The probe was launched more than a week ago and entered orbit around the moon last Wednesday. Since then, according to Russian information, the 1,800-kilogram missile has been looking for a suitable landing site. On Thursday, Roskosmos presented a photo of the lunar surface taken by the probe.
It was the first moon mission since the Soviet space probe “Luna-24” in 1976. Actually, “Luna” should have been on the road a long time ago. The first scheduled launch date for a lunar probe was 2012. Last year, another launch was planned for May, which was then delayed again due to technical problems. Roskosmos originally worked with the European space agency ESA on the moon program. However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, ESA ended cooperation with Moscow.
Source: Nachrichten
