- For the first time in almost 50 years, Russia has launched a moon mission.
- The “Luna-25” space probe is to land on the south pole of the moon and search for water, among other things.
Shortly after 1:00 a.m. Swiss time, a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle took off from the Vostochny cosmodrome near the Chinese border. It is intended to carry the Luna-25 spacecraft to the moon. The spacecraft is to land on the south pole of the moon and examine the rocks. You should also search for water.
The start went according to plan. After a few minutes, the probe entered the cosmos. The entire trip will take four and a half days. The landing of the probe would be planned for August 21, since an ideal place to touch down must first be found, according to Roscosmos boss Yuri Borissow.
The probe’s task is to collect and analyze soil samples from the moon. According to the project paper, the planned scientific investigations also include studying the surface layers in the area of the southern pole of the moon.
Great plans of Russian space travel
The launch of “Luna-25” is part of the Russian lunar program. By 2040, a space station is to be built on the earth’s satellite. The spacecraft should have been on its way to the moon a long time ago, but the original launch date of 2012 has been pushed back several times due to technical problems.
India also wants to land the “Chandrayaan-3” probe on the surface of the moon on August 23 or 24 after the failed attempt at a moon landing four years ago. So far, only the United States, the Soviet Union and China have made a soft landing on the moon. India wants to use its unmanned mission to study the little-explored south side of the moon for around two weeks.