Russian spacecraft Luna-25 crashed into the Moon because its engines couldn’t stop, space agency chief admits as he’s dragged onto state TV to explain Putin’s latest failure
- Borisov blamed Russia’s decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap
The Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, the head of Russia’s space agency has said.
Roscosmos director general Yury Borisov was dragged onto state TV yesterday to explain Vladimir Putin’s latest failure and blamed the country’s decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap.
The pilotless Luna-25 was scheduled to land on Monday in a bid to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the south pole of the Moon, an area where scientists believe important reserves of frozen water and precious elements may exist.
But Mr Borisov said the spacecraft’s engines were turned on over the weekend to put Luna-25 into a ‘pre-landing orbit’ but did not shut down properly, plunging the lander onto the moon.
The lunar mission was Russia’s first since 1976, when it was part of the Soviet Union. Only three countries have managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China.
The Luna-25 spacecraft (pictured during take off on August 11) crashed into the Moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, the head of Russia’s space agency has said
Roscosmos director general Yury Borisov (pictured yesterday on Russia 24) was dragged onto state TV today to explain Vladimir Putin’s latest failure and blamed the country’s decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap
The Roscosmos had contact with the spacecraft until 2.57pm local time on Saturday, when communication was lost and ‘the device passed into an open lunar orbit and crashed into the surface of the Moon’. Pictured: The moon lander Luna 25 automatic station during its way to the Moon on August 16
‘Instead of the planned 84 seconds, it worked for 127 seconds. This was the main reason for the emergency,’ Mr Borisov told Russian state news channel Russia 24.
READ MORE: Russian astronomer who advised Putin’s failed Luna-25 mission to the Moon is rushed to hospital over ‘sharp deterioration in his health’
Mikhail Marov was rushed to hospital after the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the surface of the Moon
He revealed that the Roscosmos had contact with the spacecraft until 2.57pm local time on Saturday, when communication was lost and ‘the device passed into an open lunar orbit and crashed into the surface of the Moon’.
‘The negative experience of interrupting the lunar programme for almost 50 years is the main reason for the failures,’ Mr Borisov said, adding ‘it would be the worst decision ever’ for Russia to end the programme now.
Luna-25 launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East on August 10. The spaceport is a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin and key to his efforts to make Russia a space superpower.
Before the launch, Roscosmos said it wanted to show Russia ‘is a state capable of delivering a payload to the moon’, and ‘ensure Russia’s guaranteed access to the moon’s surface’.
Following the crash, the Russian space agency said the Moon mission was about ensuring long-term ‘defence capability’ as well as ‘technological sovereignty’.
‘The race to develop the Moon’s natural resources has begun,’ Mr Borisov said.
‘In the future, the Moon will become an ideal platform for the exploration of deep space.’
Sanctions imposed on Russia since it launched a war in Ukraine nearly 18 months ago have affected its space programme, making it more difficult to access Western technology.
The unmanned Luna-25 was Russia’s first attempt to land on the Moon since 1976
The Luna-25 was initially meant to carry a small rover, but the idea was abandoned to reduce the weight of the craft for improved reliability, analysts said.
The lunar south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe the permanently shadowed polar craters may contain frozen water in the rocks that future explorers could transform into air and rocket fuel.
The Lunar-25 had been in a race with an Indian spacecraft that launched on July 14 to be the first to reach the south pole. Both were expected to reach the Moon between August 21 and 23.
A previous Indian attempt to land at the moon’s south pole in 2019 ended when the spacecraft crashed into the Moon’s surface.
Source: Read Full Article