In a shocking incident on April 27th, news broke that Russia’s Luna-25 space craft had collided with the Moon, resulting in the loss of the spacecraft. The Luna-25, which was operated by the Russian space agency Roscosmos, was sent on its mission to explore the Moon’s south pole.
The Luna-25 was the replacement of the Luna 24 mission, which was launched back in 1976. With the passage of time it was decided that the Luna-25 be sent to replace the Luna 24 owing to advanced technologies, better features, and capabilities. This new model of spacecraft was equipped with modern features like robotic arm control and eight different sensors to collect data.
Russia had invested seriously in the Luna-25 mission, devoting considerable resources and time into its development. Roscosmos had also announced that the Luna-25 would be examining the Moon’s south pole; in particular, the areas of water and hydrogen.
This mission was seen as a breakthrough for the exploration of the Moon. For decades, scientists had been longing to send probes to the south pole in order to analyze the elements present there. Finally, after a great deal of work, the Luna-25 was ready to be launched into space and conducted its mission.
However, tragedy was soon to follow. After six days, the Luna-25 mysteriously stopped responding and Roscosmos eventually broke the news that the spacecraft had collided with the Moon and was lost.
Experts are still in disbelief as to why this occurred. Some believe that it could have been due to a number of reasons; the spacecraft itself had gone out of control and re-directed itself towards the Moon, or that a malfunction had occurred in the science equipment which meant that it could not correctly interpret the information.
This incident has been a great loss for the Russian space exploration program. The Luna-25 was one of their most advanced missions and was expected to provide a great deal of insight about the south pole of the Moon.
The Luna-25 was expected to be the first ever mission to explore the south pole of the Moon, but sadly it will never have the chance. It is a huge loss, both for those seeking to explore new science and those seeking to take humanity into the next frontier of space exploration.