Russia’s Luna-25 Moon Lander Crashes During Landing Attempt

             In a major setback for Russia’s space program, the Luna 25
moon lander crashed on the lunar surface during its landing attempt on
Sunday, August 20th, 2023. The uncrewed spacecraft was intended to be the
first Russian moon landing since the 1976 Luna 24 mission. The failure
raises many questions about what happened and what it means for Russia’s
lunar exploration plans.

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 Introduction

Russia has a long history of lunar exploration, but since the Luna 24
sample return mission in 1976, they have not attempted a moon landing. The
Luna 25 probe was meant to be the country’s promising return,
demonstrating precise landing capabilities and studying the lunar south
pole. However, moments before touching down, communication was lost,
signaling a crash on the moon surface.

👉 Roskosmos stated in their official announcement :

” The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist
as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon
” 

Russian LUNA 25 sends first moon’s hidden area

Why Russia’s Luna-25 Moon Lander Crashes ?

Luna 25 launched successfully on July 15th and completed its
journey to the moon. As it approached the landing site, likely an issue
with its guidance system or landing engines caused it to impact the
surface at speed, destroying the probe. The crash site is estimated to be
near Boguslavsky crater at the south pole. This was only Russia’s
second moon landing attempt in over four decades.

    Recovery teams believe the lander likely experienced a
guidance system failure or engine issue that caused it to impact at
high velocity, destroying the craft near the rim of Boguslavsky
crater. This was Russia’s second moon landing attempt in over 45
years.

⭐Roscosmos said in a statement, according to investigation, the
lander – 

“ According to the results of the preliminary analysis, due to the
deviation of the actual parameters of the impulse from the calculated
ones, the device switched to an off-design orbit and ceased to exist
as a result of a collision with the lunar surface ”

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What were the main goals of the Luna 25 mission?

Luna 25 had several key scientific and technology demonstration
goals:

• Test precision landing capabilities, including hazard avoidance
  systems.

• Study the composition and properties of the lunar south pole
  region, which may contain water ice.

• Investigate how lunar soil interacts with plasma from the solar
  wind.

• Deploy instruments to assess the radiation environment at the
  moon’s south pole.

• Demonstrate new spacecraft technologies like optical
  communications.

• Pave the way for future lunar lander and sample return
  missions.

Although the lander was lost, if telemetry data was transmitted back
before the crash, it could still provide some useful insights into the
lunar environment.

Russia’s Response and Next Steps

Russian space officials have formed a commission to investigate the
causes of the accident using telemetry data. While disappointing, they
remain committed to revitalizing their lunar exploration program.
Lessons learned from Luna 25 will improve designs for future landers.
The learnings could still help enable a permanent human presence on the
moon.

You can also read :What is LiDAR technology and how does it work ?

Conclusion

While the loss of Luna 25 is discouraging news for Russia’s space
program, typically failures provide important lessons for improvement.
As Russia continues striving towards renewed lunar exploration,
engineers will apply insights from this crash to develop more robust
moon landers. Each setback brings space agencies one step closer to
future success.

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