What did Russia launch?
Roscosmos (Russia’s space agency) launched the Luna-25 spacecraft on 11th August 2023. Even though it launched about a month after India's Chandrayaan-3, the Russian spacecraft might reach the moon's south pole before Chandrayaan-3.
This is Russia’s first moon-landing spacecraft launched since 1976. Russia also aims to be the first country to perform a soft landing on the moon’s south pole (scientists think the moon’s south pole contains valuable pockets of water ice).
The head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, said they expect the lander to touch down on the moon on 21st August 2023. Before, they thought it would land on 23rd August 2023 (the same day as Chandrayaan-3). Both missions have different landing zones.
What is Luna-25 carrying?
Luna-25, also known as Luna-Glob-Lander, is around the size of a small car. It has four legs, including landing rockets, fuel tanks, solar panels, computers, and a robotic arm. The robotic arm will collect samples from the moon.
The lander will work for one year. Now, we will have to wait and see which country becomes the first to reach the moon’s south pole.
What updates do we have about Chandrayaan-3?
On 5th August 2023, the Chandrayaan-3 completed the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI). This means that it is currently orbiting the moon. The health of the spacecraft is normal.
Several moves are planned to slowly lower Chandrayaan-3's orbit and place it over the moon’s poles. Two of them were successfully performed on the 6th and 9th of August 2023. On 23rd August 2023, the lander will land on the moon's south polar region.
