2023-09-01 05:54:46
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has photographed a new crater that has appeared on the surface of the Moon. It is likely the crash site of Russia’s Luna 25 mission, NASA said.
The agency said the station “collided with an anomaly” during its descent, causing it to crash. The resulting crater reaches about 10 m in diameter. “Because this new crater is close to the expected point of impact with Luna 25, the LRO team concluded that it was most likely formed as a result of this mission, and not a natural impact,” the statement reads. press release.
Luna-25 was launched on August 11, the first launch of a Russian lunar station in almost 50 years. On August 20, Roskosmos reported that communication with Luna-25 had been lost. According to preliminary data, it went into an off-design orbit and collided with the surface of the moon.
The head of Roskosmos, Yuri Borisov, urged “not to make a tragedy out of this” and said that the mission could be repeated in 2026. The Kremlin believes that the fall of the station is an occasion to analyze the mistakes, but there is no need to despair.
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