First images of Russian probe Luna-25, recently placed in Moon’s orbit

The Russian spacecraft Luna-25, launched on Friday, reached the moon on Wednesday and reached there To revolve aroundTo revolve around around him. The satellite’s engines, which caused little concern, worked well with two ignitions of 243 seconds and 76 seconds to brake Luna-25 and place it in lunar orbit. For Russia, this lunar mission is the first for a long time. The last mission, Luna-24, dates back to 1976 during the Soviet era. If there is a 47-year gap between these two missions, it will take only a few years for the launch of Luna-26, which is currently scheduled for 2027.

After a thorough check all lights are green. Satellite services are functioning normally, as well as payloads including instruments are functioning normally.

Moon landing scheduled for Monday the 21st

At the Roscosmos control center, the probe’s navigation parameters have been checked in order to best prepare its trajectory around the Moon. This trajectory will gradually bring it closer to the Moon’s surface until it reaches a distance of 100 km. It is from this height that the final maneuvers for landing at the South Pole should begin. The target landing site for Luna-25 is north of the crater. boguslavsky, In case of unforeseen circumstances, Roscosmos also has a backup site southwest of the crater. Water, is always located at the South Pole. Significantly, Luna-25 is scheduled to land on August 21, two days before the Indian Chandrayaan-3 mission, which should land less than 120 kilometers from the Russian mission!

The Luna-25 probe is equipped with multiple cameras, which will allow the creation of a time uptime up of his landing on the moon. Once it lands on the lunar surface, it will also get a detailed panorama of its landing site.

Mission of at least one year on the surface of the Moon

This 1.8-ton mission will not carry a return capsule or rover. only one lander whose hands are exactly the same roboticrobotic 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 interior composition, 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. Finally, it will study the effect of cosmic rayscosmic rays and electromagnetic radiation on the surface of the Moon.

Article by Remy Decort published on 08/11/2023

Despite breaking off most of its space partnerships with the West, Russia is restarting its lunar program with the Luna-25 mission, marking its return to the Moon nearly 50 years after Luna-24. This morning, the Luna-25 spacecraft launched using the Soyuz is headed towards the Moon for the August 21 South Pole landing. She will be there for at least a year with an ambitious scientific program.

In a very bad geopolitical context, which has seen Russia lose all its space partnerships with the West, except International Space StationInternational Space Station (ISS), the country now looks towards the Moon. This morning, the Luna-25 mission was launched, 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 programme, particularly the lunar programme, despite severing ties with the European Space Agency.ESAESA), which was heavily involved in the lunar missions Luna-25, 26 and 27.

It took several days to choose the best landing site

The investigation was launched on a ship rocketrocket The Soyuz heads toward the Moon during the night of Thursday through Friday, where it should arrive 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 heads of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. 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 does have 10 tools with interesting purposes and a robotic arm. Despite this arm, Luna-25 will not return samples from the Moon to Earth!

After a hiatus of nearly fifty years, Russia is preparing to return to the Moon with the Luna-25 mission to study the South Pole where it will land. Its launch on a Soyuz rocket is scheduled for Friday, August 11, from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome. Hence it will be Russia’s first lunar mission since Luna-24 in 1976. According to Russian space program officials, this mission will usher in a new era of robotic exploration of the Moon, with four others in preparation.

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 ton 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 interior composition, 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. Actually, 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 the 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 prepare an investigation. According to Tass news agency Sept. Luna-25 could effectively mean a Russian return to the aerospace sector, which has been hit by a deep economic crisis.collapsecollapse Soviet bloc in 1991.

First sketch 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 the Luna-25, 26 and 27 missions. another blow in the form of a mission exomarsexomars also faced 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 for 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.