2023-08-07 20:40:00
DISPATCH — On Friday August 11, Russia will launch its Luna-25 lander on the Moon. The Russian space agency Roscosmos has been struggling for decades to carry out its own projects, it is the first spacecraft to leave for this destination since 1976.
According to Roscosmos announcements, the launch of Luna-25 will take place “on August 11 at 02:10:57 Moscow time” (23:10:57 GMT Thursday), and is expected to last between “four and a half and five days and half”. Objective: the south pole of the Moon.
Once there, Luna-25 and its approximately 800 kilograms will have the mission of “taking (samples) and analyzing the ground and carrying out long-term scientific research”, explained the Russian space agency in its official press release. She will stay there for at least a year.
As AFP reports, this launch is the first mission of Russia’s new lunar program. It comes at a time when Russia is seeking to develop its own projects and strengthen its space collaboration with Beijing, having been neglected by the European Space Agency (ESA) since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“We are guided by the desire of our ancestors to move forward, despite all the difficulties and all the attempts to prevent us (from it),” Vladimir Putin said during an exchange with employees of the cosmodrome. However, this launch is not guaranteed to be a success.
Last June, the head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borissov, called the Russian lunar mission “risky”. “Around the world, the probability of success of such missions is estimated at around 70%,” he noted.
“This launch will show that the Russians are capable of engaging in the peaceful exploration of space,” said Vitali Egorov, a Russian space specialist.
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