The Luna-25 probe, Russia’s first Moon mission in virtually 50 years, has crashed on the Moon after an incident throughout pre-landing maneuvers, Russian space company Roscosmos stated on Sunday.
Communication with Luna-25 was misplaced at 2:57 pm (1157 GMT) on Saturday, Roscosmos stated.
In keeping with preliminary findings, the lander “has ceased to exist following a collision with the Moon’s floor”, Roscosmos stated.
“Measures taken on August 19 and 20 to find the craft and make contact with it had been unsuccessful.”
The space company stated an investigation can be launched into the causes of the crash, with out giving any indication of what technical issues may need occurred.
With Luna-25, Moscow had hoped to construct on the legacy of its Soviet-era Luna program, marking a return to impartial lunar exploration within the face of rising isolation from the West.
The 800-kilogram Luna-25 probe was to have made a smooth touchdown on the lunar south pole, the primary in historical past.
Russia has not tried to land on a celestial physique since 1989, when the Soviet Union’s ill-fated Phobos 2 probe to discover the moons of Mars failed resulting from an onboard pc malfunction.
Roscosmos boss Yuri Borisov had stated the enterprise can be “dangerous”, telling President Vladimir Putin nose to nose in June that the likelihood of it succeeding was “round 70 p.c”.
© 2023 AFP
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Russia’s Luna-25 probe crashes on the Moon (2023, August 20)
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