Russia is on the brink of a significant space achievement as it prepares to launch its first lunar landing spacecraft in 47 years, igniting a race to become the first nation to achieve a soft landing on the moon's south pole, a region believed to harbor substantial deposits of water ice. This ambitious mission could have far-reaching implications for future space exploration and potential resource utilization.
The Luna-25 spacecraft, carried by a Soyuz 2.1v rocket, is scheduled to launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome, located 5,550 km east of Moscow, on August 11 at 0211 Moscow time. The craft is projected to make a controlled descent to the moon's surface on August 23, as per Russia's space agency.
Astronomers have long been captivated by the possibility of water on the moon, given its extreme aridity – approximately 100 times drier than the Sahara desert. In 2018, NASA's mapping efforts revealed the presence of water ice in shadowed regions of the moon, and subsequent confirmation in 2020 affirmed the existence of water in sunlit areas.
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Russia's lunar mission, marking its return to moon exploration since 1976, faces fierce competition from other global players. India recently launched its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander, while the United States and China boast advanced lunar exploration programs of their own.
Asif Siddiqi, a history professor at Fordham University, underlines the significance of this endeavor.
"The last one was in 1976, so there's a lot riding on this. Russia's aspirations toward the moon are mixed up in a lot of different things. I think first and foremost, it's an expression of national power on the global stage," Asif Siddiqi stated.
While Neil Armstrong's iconic moonwalk in 1969 secured the United States' place in lunar history, the Soviet Union's Luna-2 mission, reaching the moon's surface in 1959, and the Luna-9 soft landing in 1966, highlighted the USSR's early achievements. However, Moscow's lunar focus shifted to Mars exploration after these milestones, and since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has struggled to send probes beyond Earth's orbit.
The Luna-25 mission carries significant weight for Russia, particularly given the challenges posed by Western sanctions following the Ukraine conflict. If successful, it could mark a resurgence of Russia's space prowess.
One of the primary objectives of the Luna-25 mission is to explore the moon's south pole, an area notorious for its rough terrain. The potential discovery of water ice holds immense value, as it could serve as a vital resource for future lunar missions. Extracting fuel, generating oxygen, and providing drinking water are among the promising applications of lunar water.
Maxim Litvak, head of the planning group for Luna-25's scientific equipment, emphasizes the scientific importance of this endeavor.
"From the point of view of science, the most important task, to put it simply, is to land where no one else has landed. There are signs of ice in the soil of the Luna-25 landing area, this can be seen from the data from orbit," Litvak explains.
The Luna-25 spacecraft is equipped to take rock samples from a depth of up to 15 cm using a scoop. It will also study the moon's regolith and analyze ion parameters in the moon's exosphere. The European Space Agency was initially involved in the project, intending to test its Pilot-D navigation camera, but severed ties after Russia's involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
The craft is scheduled to stay in lunar orbit for 5 to 7 days before making its descent to one of three potential landing locations near the pole. This timeline suggests that it has the potential to either closely outpace or closely compete with its Indian counterpart in reaching the moon's surface.
As anticipation builds, residents of a village in Russia's far east are being evacuated due to the remote possibility of rocket stage debris falling to Earth during the launch.
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