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Russia launches Luna 25; will soon land on the moon

News On Time Desk 11 August 2023

MOSCOW: Russia has launched Luna 25, the first Soviet moon probe spacecraft in 47 years. Launched on August 14, 1976, Luna 24 was the last Soviet mission to the moon. Luna 25 is modern Russia's first lunar exploration mission since Russia became an independent country after the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991.

The Soyuz-2 Fregat launch vehicle launched the 800-kilogram Roscosmos Luna 25 from Russia's Vostok Cosmodrome at 23:10 UTC on 10 August 2023 (4:40 am IST on 11 August 2023) Spacecraft. Luna 25, also known as the Luna Glob lander, is designed to place a robotic lander at the lunar south pole.

According to NASA, the two major scientific milestones Luna 25 aims to achieve are studying the composition of the polar regolith and analyzing the plasma and dust composition of the Moon's polar exosphere.

After launch, Luna 25 is on its way to the moon. About 564 seconds after launch, the Fregat launch vehicle separated from the third stage of the Soyuz rocket, Russia's TASS news agency reported. Luna 25 will take about 5.5 days to reach the moon.

According to an article in The New York Times (NYT), Luna 25 is expected to reach lunar orbit on August 16. Previously, Luna 25 had a tentative landing date of August 23, but the spacecraft is currently expected to land on the moon on August 21.

Luna 25 will spend three to seven days in lunar orbit, about 100 kilometers above the lunar surface, before attempting to land on the moon. The spacecraft aims to touch down in a region of the Boguslavsky crater. Alternative sites are Mancinus Crater and Pentland A Crater. According to NASA, the primary landing site at the lunar south pole is at 69.545 degrees south latitude and 43.544 degrees east longitude, just north of Boguslavsky crater.

Luna 25 is planned to conduct year-long scientific experiments on the lunar surface.

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