Russia’s state space agency Roscosmos announced in a statement that the Luna-25 spacecraft could not land on the Moon. The agency said in its statement that the lander “destroyed as a result of its crash on the lunar surface.” This would be the country’s first landing on the Moon since 1976.
Luna-25 entered lunar orbit last week and was only supposed to stay in orbit for five days before landing on Monday, August 21. But over the weekend, Roscosmos said there was a technical glitch that occurred as the vehicle was preparing to enter pre-landing orbit. Now it says the Luna-25 is destroyed.
Russia was struggling to bypass the Moon landing of India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft. This spacecraft also entered lunar orbit this month, and the country’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), announced that Chandrayaan-3 will land on the Moon on August 23. India plans to land this vehicle on the Moon’s south pole on August 23, the same area of the surface targeted by Luna-25. If successful, it will be the first spacecraft to land on the Moon’s south pole.
Luna-25’s mission after landing was to study the ice at the Moon’s south pole to get an idea of our moon’s formation. Analysis of the ice would allow scientists “to theorize about how water arose on the surface of Earth’s natural satellite and whether this process was linked to the appearance of water on Earth,” one scientist said. The unnamed scientist said the study could help determine whether the Moon formed independently or was torn from Earth as a result of an extraterrestrial impact.
Luna-25’s mission to the Moon began in 2015, and this landing is intended to precede a final crewed mission to the Moon in 2029. The BBC wrote that the mission was an unfortunate setback for Roscosmos, which has been struggling with funding in favor of the Russian military.
Landing on the Moon is no easy task, and efforts in this direction often end in failure and disappointment. Earlier this year, Japanese startup ispace lost contact with the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander after a three-month journey, and Israel’s mission to the Moon ended in disaster in 2019 when the engine of the Beresheet spacecraft failed during its final landing. ISRO also reported a failure with the Chandrayaan-2 Vikram lander in the same year as it lost contact during landing.
The United States is currently planning a crewed Moon landing for 2025.
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