RUSSIA’S first Moon mission in 47 years suffered a setback after Luna-25 crashed into the Moon.
Yury Borisov, head of the Russian space agency ROSCOSMOS, revealed that the probe’s engines operated for 127 seconds instead of the planned 84 seconds, causing it to deviate from its intended orbit. Consequently, the spacecraft collided with the Moon’s surface.
The propulsion system glitch led to the spacecraft entering an unintended lunar orbit, preventing it from successfully landing near the lunar south pole.
An investigation commission has been formed to analyze the incident further.
Despite the setback, Borisov highlighted that the mission provided valuable experience for future endeavors, including Luna-26, 27, and 28.
The mission successfully reached lunar orbit and transmitted high-resolution lunar images before the attempted landing on August 21.
Meanwhile, 90-year-old Mikhail Marov, a prominent physicist who played a crucial role in Russia’s moon mission was hospitalized after suffering a sharp deterioration in his health after the moon mission failed.
After the failure of the Luna-25, Marov in an interview with a Russian newspaper expressed his sorrows and hoped for a comprehensive discussion and probe as to why the Luna-25 crashed, saying, quote, This was perhaps the last hope for me to see a revival of our lunar program,
“This was perhaps the last hope for me to see a revival of our lunar program.”
