Current:Home > Contact-usRussia launches lunar landing craft in first moon mission since Soviet era-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Russia launches lunar landing craft in first moon mission since Soviet era
View Date:2025-01-11 07:35:15
Russia's space agency said on Friday that all systems of lunar landing space craft that blasted off Friday were working normally hours after it detached from a booster module. All communications with the spacecraft are stable, Reuters reported, citing a statement from Russia's space agency.
The rocket launch is Russia's first moon mission in nearly 50 years, as the spacecraft races to land on Earth's satellite ahead of an Indian spacecraft. The launch from Russia's Vostochny spaceport of the Luna-25 craft to the moon is Russia's first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union.
The Russian lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on Aug. 23, about the same day as an Indian craft which was launched on July 14. The Russian spacecraft will take about 5.5 days to travel to the moon's vicinity, then spend three to seven days orbiting at about 100 kilometers (62 miles) before heading for the surface.
Only three governments have managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China. India and Russia are aiming to be the first to land at the moon's south pole.
Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, said it wants to show Russia "is a state capable of delivering a payload to the moon," and "ensure Russia's guaranteed access to the moon's surface."
"Study of the moon is not the goal," said Vitaly Egorov, a popular Russian space analyst. "The goal is political competition between two superpowers —China and the USA— and a number of other countries which also want to claim the title of space superpower."
Sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine make it harder for it to access Western technology, impacting its space program. The Luna-25 was initially meant to carry a small moon rover but that idea was abandoned to reduce the weight of the craft for improved reliability, analysts say.
"Foreign electronics are lighter, domestic electronics are heavier," Egorov said. "While scientists might have the task of studying lunar water, for Roscosmos the main task is simply to land on the moon — to recover lost Soviet expertise and learn how to perform this task in a new era."
The Luna-25 launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East, according to video feed from Roscosmos.
The spaceport is a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is key to his efforts to make Russia a space superpower and move Russian launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
A previous Indian attempt to land at the moon's south pole in 2019 ended when the lander crashed into the moon's surface.
The lunar south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe the permanently shadowed polar craters may contain water. The frozen water in the rocks could be transformed by future explorers into air and rocket fuel.
"The moon is largely untouched and the whole history of the moon is written on its face," said Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at Britain's Royal Observatory, Greenwich. "It is pristine and like nothing you get on Earth. It is its own laboratory."
The Luna-25 is to take samples of moon rock and dust. The samples are crucial to understanding the moon's environment ahead of building any base there, "otherwise we could be building things and having to shut them down six months later because everything has effectively been sand-blasted," Bloomer said.
- In:
- Technology
- Russia
- China
- Science
- United Kingdom
veryGood! (93)
Related
- Man waives jury trial in killing of Georgia nursing student
- Secret Service’s next challenge: Keeping scores of world leaders safe at the UN General Assembly
- Caren Bohan tapped to lead USA TODAY newsroom as editor-in-chief
- Actor Ross McCall Shares Update on Relationship With Pat Sajack’s Daughter Maggie Sajak
- Francesca Farago Details Health Complications That Led to Emergency C-Section of Twins
- Jelly Roll makes 'Tulsa King' TV debut with Sylvester Stallone's mobster: Watch them meet
- California governor to sign a law to protect children from social media addiction
- Federal judge temporarily blocks Tennessee’s ‘abortion trafficking’ law
- Katharine Hayhoe’s Post-Election Advice: Fight Fear, Embrace Hope and Work Together
- Jerome Oziel, therapist who heard Menendez brothers' confession, portrayed in Netflix show
Ranking
- Lost luggage? This new Apple feature will let you tell the airline exactly where it is.
- 'Golden Bachelorette': Gil Ramirez's temporary restraining order revelation prompts show removal
- Actor Ross McCall Shares Update on Relationship With Pat Sajack’s Daughter Maggie Sajak
- Court rules nearly 98,000 Arizonans whose citizenship hadn’t been confirmed can vote the full ballot
- Fighting conspiracy theories with comedy? That’s what the Onion hopes after its purchase of Infowars
- Election 2024 Latest: Trump and Harris campaign for undecided voters with just 6 weeks left
- Cheryl Burke Offers Advice to Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev Amid Divorce
- Diddy faces public scrutiny over alleged sex crimes as questions arise about future of his music
Recommendation
-
‘I got my life back.’ Veterans with PTSD making progress thanks to service dog program
-
USC vs. Michigan highlights: Catch up on all the big moments from Big Ten thriller
-
DNA match leads to arrest in 1988 cold case killing of Boston woman Karen Taylor
-
A funeral mass is held for a teen boy killed in a Georgia high school shooting
-
Women suing over Idaho’s abortion ban describe dangerous pregnancies, becoming ‘medical refugees’
-
Jelly Roll makes 'Tulsa King' TV debut with Sylvester Stallone's mobster: Watch them meet
-
Upset alert for Miami, USC? Bold predictions for Week 4 in college football
-
Golden Bachelorette Contestant Gil Ramirez Faced Restraining Order Just Days Before Filming