Russia’s first Moon mission in 47 years seems to be in serious trouble. The Luna-25 spacecraft was expected to perform its final orbital maneuver before landing on August 19 and landing on Monday, August 21. However, the spacecraft reportedly encountered a problem during the engine combustion process.Luna 25 may have disappeared
In a statement made by Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, “During the operation, an emergency occurred at the automatic station that did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters.” Roscosmos reports that the management team is currently analyzing the situation.
This is the only official explanation we have for now. However, the Russian press is full of serious speculation. According to Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com, the Russian internet currently assumes the Luna 25 is gone. It is even said that Roscosmos would not have mentioned it at all if the problem were not urgent.
If Luna-25 were indeed lost, it would be a major blow to Russia’s space program. Luna-25 was the first lunar mission developed by modern Russia, and a first for itself and its vanguard, the Soviet Union, since the Luna-24 in 1976. Luna-25 was launched on August 10 and reached lunar orbit six days later. Luna-25 was or was expected to land on the Moon’s south pole on August 21.
If Luna-25 can survive the malfunction, it will use the vehicles on it to search for water ice on the Moon and to conduct various researches in the mysterious south polar region, which has never been home to a lander or rover.
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