The Russian lunar explorer Luna-25 has crashed on the surface of the moon, according to Russia's space agency Roscosmos. The unmanned spacecraft had intended to land tomorrow, having been launched on August 11. The Washington Post reports:
"Roscosmos earlier reported an 'emergency' as it was trying to enter pre-landing orbit ahead of a planned Monday moon landing. After Roscosmos lost contact with the unmanned spacecraft, and efforts to locate it failed, the agency added that a preliminary analysis determined that it 'ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the lunar surface' and that an interdepartmental commission will investigate the cause.
The crash came after the spacecraft entered an uncontrolled orbit that deviated from the one the agency calculated, it said.
Moscow was hoping to make history in a race to be the first country to make a soft landing on the moon’s icy south pole. The lunar mission marks Russia’s first attempt to land on the moon since 1976, around when the Soviet Union and United States were in deep competition for space dominance during the Cold War. [snip]
The moonshot, which Russia has been planning for decades, came at a time when the Kremlin is facing international economic sanctions and a pariah status among much of the Western world for its invasion of Ukraine." (our emphasis)
Sad! We're certain that Russian thug and war criminal Vladimir Putin is looking for scapegoats for this national humiliation. It happens in the midst of a costly war of choice in Ukraine where troop morale is as bad as their military gear, and now apparently as their space technology. He can put himself at the top of the list since the Western sanctions against Russia for his brutal war in Ukraine have damaged his aerospace sector's technology and funding availability.
With the crash of Luna-25 and Russia's lunar program, India's Chandrayaan 3 Vikram lunar explorer is set to land on the moon on Tuesday, and has thus far operated smoothly and has sent photos back to Earth. India would become the fourth nation to achieve a soft landing on the moon, following the U.S., former Soviet Union and China. Here's hoping they succeed.
(image: A rough approximation of the Luna-25 crash. Apologies to Georges Méliès' "A Trip to the Moon")
