Currently, there is a race going on in outer space which has garnered the attention of scientists and space enthusiasts across the globe! After a span of 47 years, Russia inaugurated its latest moon-landing spacecraft on August 11, 2023. The objective of this spacecraft is to secure the lead in achieving the gentle landing on the southern pole of the moon, an area that is believed to encompass valuable reservoirs of water ice.
Marking Russia’s initial lunar endeavor since 1976, this lunar mission is in direct competition with India, which propelled its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander just last month. It was not supposed to be a planned race but it has turned out to be one, which has got the world wondering – who will reach the Moon’s South Pole first – Chandrayaan-3 or Luna-25?
The two missions will not cause any harm to each other as their landing spots on the Moon are different, and so are their objectives.
Russia’s Luna-25 ahead of India’s Chandrayaan-3?
The lander is expected to make contact with the lunar surface on August 21, Russia’s space chief Yuri Borisov said during a television broadcast, even though the space agency initially pinpointed August 23 as the landing date. Borisov expressed his hopes for a precise and gentle landing on the moon’s surface on Aug 21st. “Now we will wait for the 21st. I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the moon will take place. We hope to be first,” Borisov said, reported Reuters.
For those unaware, Luna-25 is actually taking a much faster and more direct route to the Moon than the Chandrayaan-3. In fact, the Russian spacecraft could reach the lunar surface in as little as 10 days post-launch, according to a BBC report. Officials at the Russian space agency Roscosmos have openly expressed their desire to be the first one to land on the Moon’s surface.
A BBC report quoted Wendy Whitman Cobb, professor of strategy and security studies at the US Air and Space Force’s Air University, saying that the timing of the Luna-25 and Chandrayaan-3 missions turned out to be more of a coincidence than anything.
The report further quoted Cobb acknowledging that India holds an advantageous position, given that its spacecraft is already positioned in lunar orbit. However, she suggested that the Russians might feel a sense of urgency to be the first to reach the destination due to their more direct trajectory. Despite Chandrayaan-3 being twice the weight of Luna-25, it was propelled by a comparatively less powerful rocket, compelling it to gather velocity through elongated elliptical orbits around Earth before maneuvering towards the Moon itself.
Before initiating the touchdown operation, operators of both crafts need to ensure the performance of each vehicle. Unanticipated glitches could lead to postponements or even derail the mission entirely. The true outcome will remain uncertain until they actually reach their destinations, the report said.