Moscow. The head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, Yuri Borisov, has stated the main reason behind the failure of the Luna-25 lunar mission. They reported that the probe failed to shut down its engines in time and strayed from its intended orbit. “Unfortunately, the engine shutdown did not happen according to the sequence diagram as usual, but based on the time stamps, and instead of the planned 84 seconds, it lasted 127 seconds,” Borisov told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster on Monday. . ,
Borisov said this factor was the main reason behind the mission’s failure, adding that a special commission had been formed to investigate the incident. “Preliminary ballistic calculations indicate that due to abnormal operation of the propulsion system, the device entered open lunar orbit and basically crashed on the lunar surface,” the space official said. Russia’s mission ended when Luna-25 crashed on the lunar surface. Comparing budgets, Russia has not officially disclosed the budget of its lunar mission, but according to reports, it was around Rs 1,600 crore.
Future missions will be successful
The head of the Roscosmos space agency said that despite the mission’s failure, Russian space engineers gained valuable experience during the construction of Luna-25. “Of course, the team will take into account all the mistakes made during this mission and I hope that the future missions of Luna-26, 27 and 28 will be successful,” said Roscosmos head Borisov.
For the first time in 5 decades, Luna-25 was sent into space on August 10.
On August 10, Luna-25 was launched into space for the first time in nearly five decades since the Soviet-era Luna-24 mission in 1976. It took a more direct route to the Moon and was estimated to attempt to land in about 11 days, until August 21. Luna-25’s speedy travel was attributed to the vehicle’s lightweight design and efficient fuel storage, which allowed it to take a shorter route to its destination.
Attempt to land on the moon
Luna-25 was supposed to land near the Moon’s south pole, known for its harsh terrain. All previous lander missions sent to the Moon by various countries had reached its equatorial regions. A Russian spacecraft successfully reached lunar orbit and sent back high-resolution images of the moon. The mission was to attempt to land on the moon on August 21.
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Tags: Mission Moon, lunar orbit, Russia
First published: August 22, 2023, 05:00 IST