Russia’s first lunar mission in nearly half a century ended in failure on Saturday, when the Luna 25 spacecraft crashed into the moon’s surface. The cause of the mishap was a malfunction in the engine system, which failed to shut down correctly and caused the spacecraft to spin out of control.
The head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, Yury Borisov, confirmed the engine issue in an interview with state media on Monday. He said that the engine worked for 127 seconds instead of the planned 84 seconds, which resulted in an unpredictable orbit and a collision with the moon.
A setback for Russia’s space ambitions
The Luna 25 mission was supposed to mark a milestone for Russia’s civil space program, which has been struggling to revive its Soviet-era prestige and compete with other space powers such as China, the US, and India. The spacecraft was designed to land near the moon’s south pole region, where it would collect geological samples and search for signs of water or its building blocks, which could raise the possibility of a future human colony on the moon. But the first goal was to prove that Russia still can launch a lunar landing mission after numerous failures in the past, generations of turnover among its scientific experts, delays due to western-imposed sanctions and now isolation because of its war in Ukraine.
Russia vows to continue lunar exploration
Despite the loss of Luna 25, Russia has not given up on its lunar aspirations. Borisov said that the interruption of the lunar program for almost 50 years also played a part in the crash. “We have to essentially master all the technologies all over again — of course, at a new technical level,” he said. He also revealed that Russia plans to expedite its plans for additional Luna missions, including Luna 26 and Luna 27, which are expected to launch in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Luna 26 will be an orbiter that will map the moon’s surface and subsurface, while Luna 27 will be another lander that will drill into the lunar soil and analyze its composition.
The moon remains a hot spot for space exploration
Russia is not the only country that is interested in exploring the moon. India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is scheduled to land on the moon’s south pole this week, after its predecessor Chandrayaan-2 failed to do so in 2019. China has also been making strides in its lunar program, having successfully landed and returned samples from the moon’s far side with its Chang’e 5 mission last year. The US is also planning to send astronauts back to the moon by 2024 under its Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.
The moon is considered a valuable destination for scientific and commercial purposes, as it offers insights into the origin and evolution of the solar system, as well as potential resources such as water ice and minerals. The moon is also seen as a stepping stone for further exploration of deep space, such as Mars and beyond.