Russia Launches Luna-25 Mission to Land on Moon’s South Pole
Russia has embarked on a historic mission to land a spacecraft on the Moon’s south pole, aiming to surpass the United States, China, and other nations in lunar exploration. The country’s space agency, Roscosmos, launched the Luna-25 mission from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the eastern Amur region on Friday morning. This marks Russia’s first attempt to reach the Moon in nearly 50 years, with the last mission accomplished in 1976.
The Soyuz-2.1b rocket carrying a lander will endeavor to achieve a soft landing on the Moon’s south pole on August 21, according to reports. The successful landing would make history as the first-ever non-explosive landing in that region. The robotic lander aims to collect crucial data over the course of the next year. However, such missions are known to be risky and have a tendency to fail.
Competition for the lunar south pole is fierce, with Russia not being the only nation vying for its strategic scientific and commercial potential. Lev Zeleny, a space researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences, emphasized the importance of exploring the Moon, referring to it as the “seventh continent from Earth.” Zeleny acknowledged that taming the Moon’s resources has become an inevitable goal.
The Luna-25 lander’s primary objectives include analyzing the regolith, the lunar soil, to gain a better understanding of its properties and searching for traces of water. The mission’s chief scientist, Maxim Litvak, highlighted the significance of being the first to land at an unexplored location. Both the United States and China, in partnership with Russia, envision building lunar stations in the area within the next decade.
The key attraction of the Moon’s south pole is its water resources, which are scattered throughout the region. Extracting water could serve as a valuable fuel source for lunar missions and rockets traveling to Mars. While India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission has also been orbiting the Moon since August 6, it is Russia’s biggest competition in this race.
Russia’s Luna-25 mission marks a significant milestone in lunar exploration, as it strives to achieve what no other nation has accomplished before. The mission’s success could pave the way for further scientific discoveries and future missions to unlock the Moon’s abundant resources.