MOSCOW. Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after entering an uncontrolled orbit, as confirmed by the country’s Roscosmos space agency on Sunday.
The unpiloted spacecraft had the ambitious goal of becoming the first to touch down on the lunar south pole. Scientists believed this area held significant reserves of frozen water and valuable elements.
The anticipated landing date was set for Monday. However, Roscosmos announced that communication with Luna-25 was lost on Saturday when the spacecraft encountered difficulties and reported an “abnormal situation.” Luna-25 was in a competition with an Indian spacecraft launched on July 14 to secure the first arrival at the south pole. Both craft were expected to reach the moon sometime between August 21 and 23. This lunar mission marked Russia’s first since 1976, during the era of the Soviet Union.
Only three governments—Soviet Union, United States, and China—have achieved successful moon landings. Scientists were particularly intrigued by the lunar south pole, where permanently shadowed polar craters were speculated to contain frozen water within rocks, a resource that future explorers could potentially transform into air and rocket fuel.
A previous Indian endeavor to land at the south pole in 2019 ended in failure when their spacecraft collided with the moon’s surface. Roscosmos aimed to demonstrate that Russia was capable of delivering payloads to the moon and securing guaranteed access to its surface. Sanctions imposed on Russia due to its actions in Ukraine had hindered its space program’s access to Western technology.
Initially planned to carry a small moon rover, the Luna-25 abandoned this idea to enhance the craft’s reliability by reducing its weight, according to analysts.
The spacecraft was launched from Russia’s Far East Vostochny Cosmodrome on August 10. This spaceport was a personal endeavor of Russian President Vladimir Putin and played a pivotal role in his aspirations to elevate Russia to a space superpower.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
