Russia’s Luna-25 crashes: Russia’s inaugural moon mission in nearly five decades faced a catastrophic setback as its Luna-25 spacecraft spiraled out of control, ultimately colliding with the lunar surface.
Roskosmos, Russia’s state space corporation, reported the loss of communication with the spacecraft shortly after encountering an issue during its transition to a pre-landing orbit on Saturday. In a statement, Reuters quoted Roskosmos saying, “The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon.”
It is worth noting that Russia had not undertaken the Moon mission since Luna-24 in 1976, an era marked by the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev in the Kremlin. Luna-25 had aimed to achieve a gentle landing on the moon’s southern pole, scheduled for August 21, according to Russian space authorities, reported Reuters.
Russia was engaged in a competitive space race, particularly with India, whose Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is set to touch down on the moon’s south pole in the coming days. This race also extends to global space giants such as China and the United States, both of which harbor ambitious lunar exploration plans.
Earlier, Russia has reported an unexpected setback in its lunar mission. Roscosmos had disclosed that the spacecraft faced an unspecified issue while attempting to enter its pre-landing orbit.