Russia to launch first mission to moon in nearly 50 years
By Associated Press
August 10, 2023 2:03pm
LONDON — Russia is scheduled to launch its first mission to the moon in nearly 50 years on Friday, pitting it in a space race with India which is also aiming to land a lunar craft this month.
The launch of the Luna-25 craft to the moon will be Russia’s first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union and will be conducted without assistance from the European Space Agency, which ended cooperation with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on Aug. 23, about the same day as an Indian craft which was launched on July 14.
Both countries’ modules are headed for the lunar south pole, an area where no spacecraft has landed smoothly.
Only three governments have managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China.
Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, said it wants to show Russia “is a state capable of delivering a payload to the moon,” and “ensure Russia’s guaranteed access to the moon’s surface.”
“Study of the moon is not the goal,” said Vitaly Egorov, a popular Russian space analyst. “The goal is political competition between two superpowers — China and the USA — and a number of other countries which also want to claim the title of space superpower.”
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