Space: Russia to launch its first spacecraft to the Moon since 1976 on Friday
Russia will launch its first spacecraft to the Moon since 1976 on Friday, announced the Russian space agency Roscosmos on Monday, which has struggled for decades to carry out its own projects.
Russia is soon on its way to the Moon, reminiscent of the Cold War era. The launch of the Luna-25 lander will take place “on August 11 at 02:10:57 Moscow time” (01:10:57 Friday, August 11 in Paris time), said Roscosmos in a statement.
This launch comes at a time when other global powers, such as the United States and China, are increasing their missions for lunar landings.
Roscosmos explained that a Soyuz launcher had been “assembled” at the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East for the launch of Luna-25, which is expected to land near the South Pole of the Moon, in “challenging terrain”.
The flight is expected to last between “four and a half days and five and a half days,” according to data published by Roscosmos and cited by the official news agency Tass.
The authorities in the Khabarovsk region in the Far East have already announced the evacuation of a village from Friday morning, as it is within the possible impact zone of the launcher’s first stage.
“Peaceful exploration”?
Once on the Moon, the 800-kilogram Luna-25 lander will have the mission of “collecting (samples) and analyzing the soil and conducting long-term scientific research” for at least one year, emphasized the Russian space agency in its official statement.
This launch is the first mission of Russia’s new lunar program and comes at a time when the country is seeking to develop its own projects and strengthen its space cooperation with Beijing, as its cooperation with Western space powers has been devastated since the Russian military began its assault on Ukraine.
A Soyuz 2.1b rocket carrying the Luna-25 lander at the Vostochny cosmodrome north of Blagoveschensk in the Amur region in Russia’s Far East on August 7, 2023 © Russian Space Agency Roscosmos via AFP
“(It) is of great importance, not even for Putin’s Russia, but for post-Putin Russia, a peaceful Russia,” said Russian space expert Vitali Egorov to AFP.
“This launch will show that the Russians are capable of engaging in the peaceful exploration of space,” he believes.
Glorious past, uncertain future
After the military offensive by Vladimir Putin, the European Space Agency (ESA) abandoned working with Moscow on the launch of Luna-25 and on future missions 26 and 27.
Russia had stated that it would continue its lunar projects and replace ESA equipment with domestically made scientific equipment.
A Soyuz 2.1b rocket carrying the Luna-25 lander at the Vostochny cosmodrome north of Blagoveschensk in the Amur region in Russia’s Far East © Russian Space Agency Roscosmos via AFP
However, Russia has struggled to innovate for decades, with its space sector plagued by lack of resources and corruption.
For years, it has relied on the reliability of its launchers, but Roscosmos faces increasing competition and its position has deteriorated due to Western sanctions.
Russia still claims to be a major space power based on its Soviet past.
During a visit to the Vostochny cosmodrome in April 2022, Vladimir Putin emphasized that the USSR had successfully sent the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961, despite “total” sanctions against it.
He assured that Russia would continue to implement its lunar program despite Western reprisals due to the conflict in Ukraine.
“We are guided by the desire of our ancestors to move forward, despite all the difficulties and attempts to prevent us,” the Russian president said during an exchange with cosmodrome employees.
Last June, the head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, described the Russian lunar mission as “risky.”
“The probability of success for such missions is estimated at around 70% worldwide,” he noted.
A Soyuz 2.1b rocket carrying the Luna-25 lander at the Vostochny cosmodrome north of Blagoveschensk in the Amur region in Russia’s Far East © Russian Space Agency Roscosmos via AFP
The last lunar mission of the USSR was the Luna-24 spacecraft in 1976, over 25 years after the first program of its kind.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has struggled to regain momentum in space exploration, with its programs now being challenged not only by state actors but also by private initiatives such as Elon Musk’s Space X.
AFP
