Russia’s Luna-25 lunar lander, which made its debut on August 11, has unfortunately met its demise after crashing onto the surface of the moon. Officials from the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, made the announcement on Sunday. File Photo by Roscosmos State Space Corporation/EPA-EFE
August 20 (UPI) — Tragically, Russia’s Luna-25 lunar lander suffered a devastating crash into the moon. Roscosmos, the nation’s space agency, disclosed the interruption in communication between themselves and the lunar lander on Saturday. Extensive searches were conducted with no success up until Sunday.
“According to the preliminary analysis, the device switched to an off-design orbit due to the deviation of the impulse’s actual parameters from the calculated ones. As a result, it collided with the lunar surface,” Roscosmos shared on Telegram.
“A specially formed interdepartmental commission will investigate the reasons behind the loss of the lunar lander,” the agency further stated.
Luna-25 aimed to land near the moon’s south pole, marking Russia’s first lunar landing mission since 1976. Unfortunately, an emergency situation occurred onboard the lander while it was in pre-landing orbit, causing it to deviate from its intended path and ultimately crash, according to officials.
The launch of Luna-25 took place on August 10, following over two decades of preparations. The mission was scheduled to last a year. Since its launch, several scientific instruments on the lander had become active. It had started capturing measurements of gamma rays and chemical elements, as well as capturing images of the moon’s surface.
The primary objectives of this mission were to explore the moon’s south pole in search of water and ice. The presence of water would be essential for future deep space exploration, as hydrogen and oxygen, found in water, can serve as valuable resources.
According to TASS, Luna-25 was equipped with onboard cameras meant to record a time-lapse video of its landing and provide a high-definition panoramic view.
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