Space: Russia is going to the Moon after 47 years of absence

In a very bad geopolitical context, in which Russia has lost all its space partnerships with Western countries, except for the International Space Station (ISS), the country is now turning to it. lunelune, The Luna-25 mission was launched this morning, nearly 50 years after the previous Soviet-era mission Luna-24, which brought back lunar soil samples.

The launch is seen in Russia as a ray of hope capable of reviving the country’s space program, which has been deeply affected by its interference in Ukraine. Despite sanctions imposed on his country, President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his commitment to the Russian space program, especially the lunar program, which was heavily involved in the lunar mission Luna 25, despite breaking ties with the European Space Agency (ESA). was actively involved. , 26 and 27.

It took several days to choose the best landing site

The probe was launched on a rocket SoyuzSoyuz During the night of Thursday to Friday, in the direction of the moon, which should be reached in five days. A period of three to seven days will be devoted to selecting the best location for landing in the area of ​​the lunar south pole north of the crater. boguslavskyor southwest of the crater Water, which serves as a backup site. The landing is scheduled for August 21.

This moon landing will prove to be a historic milestone, as it will be the first landing on the south pole of the moon. , All landings so far have taken place in the equatorial region. ”, says Alexander Blokhin, one of the managers of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. He also notes the risky nature of this type of mission, saying that the success rate is around 70%.

Article by Remy Decort published on 08/08/2023

Russia is looking to relaunch its Moon dreams and is preparing to launch the Luna 25 probe that will land on the Moon’s south pole. This mission, the first in a series of five, tops exhibitorexhibitor Precise landing technique. However, it has interesting purposes and 10 tools with one arm roboticrobotic, Despite this arm, Luna 25 will not bring samples from the Moon back to Earth!

After nearly fifty years of disruption, Russia is preparing to return to the Moon with the Luna 25 mission to study the South Pole where it will land. its launch, aboard a rocketrocket The Soyuz launches as scheduled from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome on Friday, August 11. It will therefore be Russia’s first lunar mission since Luna 24 in 1976. According to Russian space program officials, this mission, along with four other missions, will usher in a new era of robotic exploration of the Moon. Whose preparation is going on.

ambitious scientific and technological objectives

Luna 25 should land on August 16 at the south pole north of the crater boguslavskyor southwest of the crater Water Which is the backup site. The mission is expected to last for at least a year. Above all, it is a technical demonstration of a smooth and precise landing on the Moon.

Will this mission return capsule of 1.8 tonnes carry or not NomadNomad, Only one lander is equipped with a robotic arm which will be the main attraction for the general public. At 1.6 meters long, it will be able to retrieve samples of regolith and up to 20 to 30 centimeters in depth. Luna 25 is also home to ten instruments and an ambitious scientific program that provides studies of the Moon’s internal structure, its regolith and the lunar exosphere. It will also analyze the availability of resources around the landing site, focusing on the availability of water including the ice content of the regolith as well as the chemical and mineralogical composition of the soil.

After Mars the ESA won’t go to the Moon with the Russians

As a reminder, the European Space Agency (ESA) was supposed to be present on Luna 25. In fact, before Russia decided to invade Ukraine, space cooperationspace cooperation Things were going well between both the partners. But, in April 2022, the ESA Council decided to suspend all cooperation with Russia regarding lunar missions as well as the ExoMars rover.

With regard to Luna 25, this resulted in the withdrawal of two key instruments. Possibility The technical feasibility of using water ice for multiple purposes such as air, water and fuel supply was to be demonstrated. related to pilotIt was a camera designed to perform precision landings with programmed navigation and hazard avoidance techniques atvatv,

article of dorian de shapemeisterdorian de shapemeister Published on 04/16/2022

During a visit to Belarus, Vladimir Putin explained Russia’s wishes regarding space exploration. The Russian President announced a return to the Moon in 2022 with the Luna 25 robotic mission, which was withdrawn a few days ago by ESA.

Space exploration is taking the shape of the Cold War. On April 12, Vladimir Putin made his first visit to Moscow since the start of the war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. He was meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, with both heads of state making televised interventions from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. , in the east of Russia.

On this highly symbolic date, marking the 61st anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first manned space flight, Vladimir Putin wanted to recall Russia’s importance in the field of space conquest and announced the return of lunar missions from 2022. The space agency Roscosmos should coordinate the Luna 25 mission, a robotic scientific mission to study the Moon. It will be the first Russian probe to land on our natural satellite since 1976 and the Luna 24 mission.

back to the future

Russian news agency RheaRhea Novosti revealed on April 8 that Roscosmos plans to launch the Luna 25 probe on August 22, 2022. If the mission has already been delayed, Vladimir Putin has reportedly asked the space agency’s director general, Dmitry Rogozin, to have the probe ready before September. To TASS news agency. Luna 25 could effectively mean Russia’s return to aerospace, as the sector has been hit by a deep economic crisis.collapsecollapse Soviet bloc in 1991.

First sketches for Luna 25 emergingemerging in 1997. The project, then called “Luna Globe”, was formalized in 2005 and the probe is scheduled to be launched to the Moon in 2012. But after delays, Luna had to be postponed due to the failure of the Phobos-Grunt Mars mission. 25 to 2016. Luna 25 will be launched from Vostochny Cosmodrome with Soyuz 2.1B and will land near the South Pole after a five-day journey.

Once on the Moon, Luna 25 will engage in various experiments on the lunar soil. The main objectives are related to the analysis of the regolith, which covers the entire surface of the Moon with a layer of white dust. The probe will also be able to observe thermal variations of the regolith in the region, which may provide researchers with clues about the possible presence of water in the Moon’s inner layers.

russia is going it alone

The Luna 25 mission was to be a collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), but the war initiated by Russia led to better scientific cooperation between that country and Western space institutions. On 13 April, ESA announced its withdrawal from Luna Missions 25, 26 and 27. Another blow, while the ExoMars mission also suffers by lightningby lightning Geopolitical tensions with Russia certainly won’t let up in 2022.

It is difficult to predict whether Roscosmos will meet its deadline and succeed in launching Luna 25 in August. Most experts agree that landing on the Moon is a risky undertaking. But the Luna 25 mission is very important to Russia, and could be the first milestone for cooperation with China. ConstructionConstruction permanent lunar base,International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), which is expected to be commissioned in 2026.