Luna-25 was launched on August 11.

M.AMINUR RAHMAN

20 August 2023

Russian lunar probe Luna-25 lost control and crashed on the moon. Forty-seven years later, Russia sent the Luna-25 spacecraft to the moon. The news agency Reuters reported that it lost control due to complications with the orbit of landing on the lunar surface.

It was the first spacecraft to land on the Moon's South Pole. But problems arose after the spacecraft moved into pre-landing orbit.

The rover was supposed to explore a part of the moon that scientists believe may contain frozen water and precious materials.

Russian space agency Roscommon said on Saturday morning that Luna-25 lost contact with the lunar probe at 11:57 GMT.

A Roscosmos statement said, "Initial evidence suggests that the 800 kg rover collided with the lunar surface and crashed." The spacecraft was scheduled to land on the lunar surface on Monday.

Roscosmos said a special commission will be formed to find out why the spacecraft crashed.

The crash of Luna-25 was a big loss for the Cosmos. The institution has been in decline for the past several years as a large portion of Russia's budget is spent on the military.

Russia's Luna-25 is competing with India's Chandrayaan-3 to land on the Moon's South Pole. India's Chandrayaan is scheduled to land on the Moon's South Pole in the next three weeks.

Roscosmos recognized that landing at the Moon's South Pole was risky and likely to fail. The rover was launched on August 11 and successfully entered lunar orbit last Wednesday.

state of decay

Soviet Russia, which once had a large role in space exploration, is clearly deteriorating from the failure of this mission.

But the failure underscores the decline of Russia's space power, which played a huge role in space exploration during the Cold War. Russia launched the first spacecraft, Sputnik-1, into Earth orbit in 1957, and Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel in space in 1961.

The crash of a Russian spacecraft on the lunar surface comes at a time when the $2 trillion economy is facing one of its biggest problems in decades. Western sanctions and Europe's biggest land war since World War II are the main reasons.

Russia has not attempted a mission to the moon since 1976 under Soviet leader Brezhnev.

The news of the spacecraft crashing into the moon was aired at number eight on the country's state television, with only 26 seconds of coverage. Earlier reports included a fire in Tenerife and a Russian pilot and crew taking professional leave.