Russia’s long-awaited lunar endeavor, the Luna-25 probe, has met a disheartening fate after nearly five decades of their first lunar mission. Russian space agency Roscosmos confirmed on Sunday that the probe, which marked Russia’s return to lunar exploration, has tragically crashed on the Moon due to a mishap during pre-landing maneuvers.
At precisely 2:57 pm (1157 GMT) on Saturday, communication with the Luna-25 was abruptly severed, as reported by Roscosmos. Preliminary assessments have revealed a grim outcome: the lander is believed to have been obliterated upon impact with the Moon’s surface. Despite relentless efforts undertaken on August 19 and 20 to reestablish contact with the craft, these attempts proved fruitless.
The space agency has announced its intention to conduct an in-depth investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash. However, no specifics about the potential technical glitches or issues leading to this tragedy have been disclosed.
Luna-25 was conceived as a momentous step for Moscow, intending to rekindle the spirit of their Soviet-era Luna program. This ambitious endeavor aimed to revitalize independent lunar exploration in light of the growing estrangement from the Western world.
Weighing in at 800 kilograms, Luna-25 was poised to achieve an unprecedented feat – a soft landing on the lunar south pole, marking an unparalleled achievement in the annals of space history. Regrettably, Russia has not ventured to land on a celestial body since 1989, when the Soviet Union’s Phobos 2 probe, designed to investigate the moons of Mars, encountered a tragic demise due to an onboard computer malfunction.
Roscosmos’ head, Yuri Borisov, had candidly acknowledged the inherent risks associated with this venture. In a face-to-face meeting with President Vladimir Putin back in June, Borisov had candidly assessed the venture’s success probability at approximately 70 percent, underscoring the inherent uncertainty and challenges inherent in such a complex mission.
