Russia’s first lunar mission in 47 years smashes into the moon in failureBy Isabel Keane
August 20, 2023
Russia’s first lunar mission in nearly half a century came to a violent end when its unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the moon after encountering a problem when it began preparing for pre-landing orbit.
Russian officials had hoped the prestige mission would show they can still compete in space despite their post-Soviet decline and the extreme loss suffered in the Ukraine war.
Its failure highlighted the intense decline of Russia’s authority over space since the days of the Cold War, when Moscow was the first to launch a satellite — Sputnik 1 — to orbit the Earth.
The Luna-25 mission, launched Aug 11, was Russia’s first attempt at sending a spacecraft to the moon since Luna-24 in 1976.
Russia’s state space corporation, Roskosmos, lost contact with the spacecraft at 11:57 GMT Saturday as the ship began experiencing issues while beginning for pre-landing orbit, the agency said.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/08/20/russias-luna-25-space-craft-smashes-into-the-moon-in-failure/
