According to information from Moscow, two days before the planned landing on the moon, there was an unexpected incident with the Russian space probe “Luna-25”. In preparation for landing on the lunar surface, the probe should enter a new orbit around Earth’s satellite at 2:10 p.m. Moscow time (1:10 p.m. CEST) Saturday, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
“During the operation, an unplanned situation occurred on board the automatic station, which prevented the maneuver from being performed under the specified parameters.” Specialists are now investigating the incident and determining the cause, Roskosmos said. Further details were not given. The moon landing was scheduled for next Monday (August 21). It was initially unclear whether that would continue.
Russia wants its own space station on the moon
“Luna-25” is part of the Russian lunar program, which envisages the construction of its own space station on the celestial body by 2040. The probe was launched more than a week ago and entered orbit around the moon last Wednesday. Since then, according to Russian information, the 1,800-kilogram missile has been searching for a suitable landing site. On Thursday, Roskosmos presented a photo of the lunar surface taken by the probe.
Actually, “Luna” should have been on the road a long time ago. The first planned launch date for a lunar probe was 2012. Last year another launch was scheduled for May, which was then postponed again due to technical problems. Roskosmos originally worked with the European space agency ESA on the lunar program. However, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, ESA ended its cooperation with Moscow.
Source: Krone
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