Russian Lunar Probe 'Luna-25' Crashes After 47-Year Endeavor

Russia's Ambitious Lunar Mission Ends in Failure as 'Luna-25' Probe Crashes on Moon's Surface

In an unfortunate turn of events, Russia's unmanned lunar probe, named 'Luna-25,' has crashed onto the lunar surface after veering off course. This ambitious endeavor marked Russia's first attempt in 47 years since its last endeavor in 1976 during the Soviet era.

As reported by Reuters and other sources, the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, issued a statement on the 20th (local time), revealing that the "Luna-25 probe had deviated from its predicted orbit and collided with the lunar surface, resulting in complete destruction."

Roscosmos had previously disclosed on the 19th around 2:10 PM that "an abnormal situation occurred during the spacecraft's transition to lunar landing orbit," stating that despite issuing the command to enter the lunar orbit, the probe failed to maneuver as intended. The exact cause of the crash has not been immediately revealed.

Launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East on the 11th of last month, the Luna-25 probe was initially slated to land on the lunar South Pole on the 21st, aiming to carry out missions such as internal lunar structure analysis and resource exploration over the course of a year. The lunar South Pole holds significant potential due to its likelihood of containing water and ice layers, as well as valuable resources like helium-3 for nuclear fusion and rare minerals like titanium.

Russia had held high expectations for Luna-25, anticipating its role as the first probe to land on the lunar South Pole in human history. State-owned TASS news agency had remarked at the time of launch that this event signified a new chapter in Russia's space exploration history, launching its first satellite and piloted spacecraft into space 47 years after the launch of Luna 24 in 1976. Luna 24 had been the last spacecraft to land on the moon until China's Chang'e 3 in 2013, marking a significant achievement.

The failure of Luna-25 comes as a blow to Russia's strong pride in its space technology. Reuters pointed out that the crash "shows a decline in Russia's space technology, which once thrived during the Cold War era with events like the launch of the first satellite Sputnik 1 in 1957 and Yuri Gagarin's pioneering human spaceflight in 1961."

Furthermore, Luna-25 faced the risk of losing the glory of being the "first spacecraft to land on the lunar South Pole" to India. India's unmanned spacecraft, Chandrayaan-3, launched on the 14th of last month, is scheduled to attempt a landing on the lunar South Pole on the 23rd of this month.