Steadfast friends on Earth, India and Russia are soon set to become rivals in outer space. Even as India’s Chandrayaan-3 races towards the moon, Russia is getting ready to launch its first lunar mission in almost half a century.
In a race with India to the south pole of the moon, a potential source of water to support a future human presence there, Russia will launch its first lunar lander in 47 years next Friday (August 11).
Four weeks after India launched its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander, which is scheduled to land on the south pole of the moon on August 23, the launch of Russia’s Luna-25 will take place from the Vostochny cosmodrome, 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow.
The south pole is a sought-after location despite its challenging topography because scientists think it may contain substantial amounts of ice that might be utilised to extract fuel and oxygen as well as for drinking water.
In a statement to the media, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said that its Luna-25 spacecraft would travel to the moon in five days, spend five to seven days in lunar orbit, and then make one of three potential landings sites near the pole. Based on this timeline, it appears that the Russian spacecraft could match or just barely beat its Indian rival to the moon’s surface.
The two missions won’t interfere with one another, according to Roscosmos, because their intended landing sites differ.
While Russia’s Luna-25 will spend a year working on the moon, India’s Chandrayaan-3 will conduct research for two weeks. In an attempt to make the first moon landing by a private space business, Japan’s ispace (9348.T) failed in April.
The 1.8-ton Luna-25 will utilise a scoop to collect rock samples from a depth of up to 15 cm (6 inches) in order to test for the presence of frozen water that could support human life. Luna-25 is also carrying 31 kg (68 pounds) of scientific equipment.
The launch, which was supposed to happen in October 2021, has been postponed for almost two years. In order to test its Pilot-D guidance camera, the European Space Agency had intended to attach it to Luna-25. However, after Russia invaded Ukraine in February of last year, the ESA severed its ties to the project.
According to Alexei Maslov, the 26 residents of Shakhtinsky would be transported to a location where they could see the launch and receive a free breakfast before returning in 3-1/2 hours. He said that local hunters and fisherman had also been forewarned.
