Russia's ambitious Moon mission, Luna-25, ended in failure when the spacecraft lost control and eventually crashed into the Moon's surface. It marked a disappointing end to Russia's first lunar mission in nearly half a century, as the country's state space company Roscosmos announced the tragic incident.
The Luna-25 spacecraft experienced a catastrophic failure shortly after a critical maneuver while in position in orbit before landing on Saturday. In a statement released by Roscosmos, the agency revealed that communication with the spacecraft was lost due to an unforeseen incident during this critical phase of the mission.
"The instrument entered an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist after the collision with the surface of the Moon," Roscosmos said in the official announcement, conveying the tragic end of Luna-25. This abrupt and unexpected end marks a significant setback for Russia's space ambitions and shocks the scientific and space communities around the world.
In an official statement on Telegram, Roscosmos said: “On August 19, according to the flight schedule of the Luna-25 spacecraft, it was scheduled to generate a thrust to form a shaped orbit. ellipse before landing. Around 2 p.m.:
57 Moscow time, communication with the spacecraft Luna-25 was interrupted. Measures taken on August 19 and 20 to search for the device and contact it yielded no results.
He added: “A specially formed inter-ministerial committee will deal with the issues of clarifying the cause of the Moon's disappearance.
The Luna-25 mission is an integral part of Russia's effort to revive its lunar exploration program. The spacecraft was designed to land at the Moon's south pole, an area of particular interest to scientists because of its ability to contain frozen water, a valuable resource that could be needed for missions. of humans on the Moon and beyond in the future.
The failed mission is seen as a precursor to more advanced lunar efforts, paving the way for the upcoming Luna-26 and Luna-27 missions, which aim to perform more complex missions including collecting and returning soil samples on the moon.
Roscosmos initially described the Luna-25 mission as a milestone in the Russian space exploration story, a long-awaited return to lunar exploration nearly five decades after the successful mission. the last of the Soviet Union. The incident not only dashed those ambitions but also raised questions about the technical challenges and unforeseen obstacles that space agencies face when undertaking such complex projects.
