According to CCTV news reports, Roscosmos said that the Russian “Lunar-25” probe will be postponed until July to August 2023. The spacecraft was originally scheduled to launch in 2022. However, the delay is due to the fact that the speed and distance measuring instruments on the spacecraft did not meet the technical requirements of the lunar mission.
According to previous reports, the main task of this launch is to practice the basic techniques of soft landing in the circumpolar region and conduct contact research on a specific area of the lunar south pole. The “Luna 25” probe mission will be Russia’s first in 47 years. On August 9, 1976, the Soviet Union sent the last artificial device to the moon, the Luna-24 probe, to study the moon, and collect and return lunar soil samples to Earth.
Gizchina News of the week
Russia to cooperate with China on the moon and deep space missions
Yuri Borisov, general manager of Roscosmos, claims that Russia is looking for ways to cooperate with China to explore the moon and deep space. Borisov points out that it is very difficult to implement such projects independently. As of now, Russia’s lunar exploration program is “imperfect from a financial and scientific point of view”.
In May of this year, Rogozin, general manager of Roscosmos, revealed that the “Luna 25” probe was planned to be launched at the end of September. However, for the reasons stated above, the launch was not possible. Of course, these missions are highly technical and expensive. Thus, we expect to have more delays before the eventual launch.
In recent times, there has been much interest in the study of the moon. Scientists found that the moon is not as dry as they thought. Frozen water is a precious resource at the bottom of the permanently dark craters at the moon’s poles. It could provide drinking water for future astronauts visiting the moon. Furthermore, it may be possible to break the water into hydrogen and oxygen.
