When did the Luna-25 spacecraft crash into the moon?
The Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon's surface a few days ago. This is a big setback for Russia's space ambitions. Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, said they lost contact with Luna-25 on Saturday, 19th August 2023. The crash happened after communication with the spacecraft stopped.
On Sunday, 20th August 2023, Roscosmos announced the crash. The Luna-25 spacecraft was supposed to do a soft landing on the moon's south pole on 21st August 2023, two days before India’s Chandrayaan-3.
Why did the spacecraft crash?
Roscosmos said they could not successfully lower the spacecraft to orbit closer to the moon and land safely. Due to some error, communication was also lost with the spacecraft.
Roscosmos head, Yury Borisov, said that the Luna-25 spacecraft engines failed to shut down properly after they were turned on to place Luna-25 in a "pre-landing orbit." This caused the spacecraft to crash land on the moon.
He also blamed Russia’s years-long pause in lunar exploration for the crash. Still, a commission will study the causes of the spacecraft's crash in detail.
What are the updates on Chandrayaan-3?
On 17th August 2023, Chandrayaan-3’s lander successfully separated from the propulsion module. It will land on the moon’s south pole today, on 23rd August 2023. The spacecraft’s health is also normal.
You can watch the live telecast of the soft landing here. The live telecast will begin at 05:20 pm.
