The first Russian mission to the moon took off in nearly 50 years

A Russian rocket carrying a lunar rover on board lifted off today, as part of the Kremlin’s first mission to the moon in nearly 50 years. The plane plans to land at the moon’s south pole before a probe from India reaches that region AP Agency.

The launch of Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft from the country’s far eastern Vostochny cosmodrome is the first Russian launch to the Moon since 1976, when the country was part of the Soviet Union.

As scheduled, the Russian spacecraft will reach Earth’s natural satellite on August 23, More or less the same day as the launch of the Indian probe on July 14th. The Russian rocket will take about five and a half days to reach the lunar circumference, after which it will spend three to seven days orbiting it about 100 kilometers before heading to the surface.

Only three countries managed to land a spacecraft on the moon: the Soviet Union, the United States and China. India and Russia claim to be the first to land on the south pole of the moon.

roscosmos, The Russian Space Agency said it aims to demonstrate the country’s ability to deliver a payload to the Moon. and “ensuring Russia’s access to the moon.”

“Studying the Moon is not the goal,” said Vitaly Egorov, a well-known Russian space analyst. He added, “The goal is political competition between two superpowers (China and the United States) and a group of other countries that also want to achieve the title of superpower in space.”

Sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine make it difficult for it to gain access to Western technology, Which affects their space program. Luna-25 was initially planned to carry a small spacecraft to the lunar surface, analysts said, but the idea was scrapped to reduce the spacecraft’s weight and increase its reliability. “Foreign electronic components are lighter, and domestic ones are heavier,” Egorov noted.

“Although scientists may be tasked with studying lunar waters, for Roscosmos the main task is simply to land on the moon: to recover lost knowledge from the Soviet era and learn how to carry out these missions in a new era,” the Russian official said.

Vostochny Cosmodrome is one of the favorite projects of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This site is important to his plans to turn Russia into a superpower in space. and halting launches from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

India failed a previous attempt to land on the south pole of the moon in 2019 because the spacecraft crashed into the lunar surface.

The moon’s south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe the region’s craters could hold water because of its permanent shadow. Future explorers could turn the water frozen in lunar rocks into fuel for air and rockets.

Ed Plumer, an astronomer at Britain’s Royal Observatory in Greenwich, said, “The Moon is almost unchanged and all of its history is written on its face. It is pristine, unlike Earth. It is its own laboratory.”

Luna-25 will take samples of lunar rocks and dust. The samples are essential to understanding the lunar environment “Otherwise, we might end up building things and have to abandon them after six months because of the abrasive wear,” Bloomer said before building any bases there.