Russia Launches Lunar Landing Mission After 47 Years, Joining India's Chandrayaan-3
Russia launched its first lunar landing spacecraft in 47 years on Friday that will attempt to land on the Moon's south pole, just like India's Chandrayaan-3 mission. A Soyuz 2.1v rocket is carrying the Luna-25 spacecraft to the Moon and blasted off from the Vostochny cosmodrone in the early hours of Friday. Launched by Russia's space agency Roscosmos, the spacecraft is expected to reach the Moon's south pole on August 21.
Russia's first lunar mission in almost 50 years
This marks Russia's first lunar landing mission since 1976 and might land on the Moon's south pole before Chandrayaan-3 even though it was launched almost a month later.
Russia has a successful history with moon missions. In fact, the first spacecraft to reach the Moon's surface was the Luna-2 mission in 1959 under the former Soviet Union. The Luna-9 mission in 1966 was the first such mission to achieve a soft landing on the Moon.
Since the fall of Soviet Union, Russia hasn't managed to send any probes outside the Earth's orbit. Over the recent decades, interest in the Moon's south pole has increased tremendously. So far, no country has managed to make a soft landing on the Moon's south pole.?
Scientists think the Moon's south pole has ice and it could aid the setting up of a colony in the future as this ice could be used to extract fuel and oxygen, in addition to drinking water.?
Also read:?Moon As Seen From Chandrayaan-3, Check Out First Video
According to Roscosmos, Luna-25 would take five days to fly to the Moon. It would spend 5-7 days in lunar orbit before attempting to land at one of the three possible landing sites near the South Pole. This means that the spacecraft could match or beat India's Chandrayaan-3 to land on the Moon.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft will spend two weeks conducting experiments while Luna-25 will do the same for a year. Luna-25 has a mass of 1.8 tons and is carrying 31 kg of scientific equipment.
Also read:?Chandrayaan-3: After Another Orbit Reduction, Spacecraft Now Closer To Moon's Surface
Luna-25 will scoop up rock samples from a depth of 6 inches to find the presence of frozen water capable of supporting human life on the Moon. Earlier, the launch was scheduled for October 2021 but faced a delay of two years.
What do you think about this mission? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.
