Photo: Reuters-
Metropolis Desk-
The Luna-25 spacecraft smashed with the Moon’s surface, ending Russia’s first moon trip in decades.
After communication with the spacecraft was cut off, the incident occurred, dealing a setback to Russia’s aspirations for space travel.
The communication with Luna-25 was lost on Saturday at around 2:57 PM Moscow time, according to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. “The actions taken on August 19 and 20 to look for the device and contact it did not yield any results,” the statement read.
Roscosmos reported that Luna-25 “switched to an off-design orbit” before the collision, by early estimations. According to the agency, a special committee has been created to look into the circumstances surrounding the loss of Luna-25.
The information was released a day after the spacecraft, according to Roscosmos, reported an “emergency ” as it attempted to enter a pre-landing orbit.
Roscosmos stated in a Telegram post on Saturday that “during the operation, an emergency occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters.”
The project was to be the first lunar landing mission for Russia in 47 years. On August 18, 1976, Luna 24, the final lunar lander, touched down on the Moon’s surface.
On August 10, the Luna-25 spacecraft blasted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Amur Oblast and began a quick journey to the moon.
The lunar lander Luna 25 outran India’s Chandrayaan-3, which had been launched in mid-July, thanks to its trajectory.
Source- CNN
