Russia will launch its first mission to the moon in nearly 50 years this Friday, aiming to give new impetus to its space program, which has been troubled in recent years and isolated because of the conflict in Ukraine.
The launch of the Luna-25 module is the first to the Moon since 1976, a time when the then Soviet Union was at the forefront of space conquest. But since the end of the USSR, Moscow has faced a series of difficulties, such as a lack of funding and corruption scandals.
The 800-kilogram probe will be launched by a Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny space base, in the far east of the country, at 2:10’57” Moscow time (0:10’57” in Lisbon), and would should arrive at lunar orbit five days later.
According to the Russian space agency (Roscosmos), it takes between three and seven days to determine the landing site at the south pole of the moon.
A Roscosmos source contacted by AFP said the device is expected to reach the moon around August 21.
“For the first time in history, there will be a landing on the south pole of the moon. So far, everyone has landed in the equatorial zone of the moon,” Alexander Blokhin said in a recent interview with the official newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
According to the Russian space agency, the mission, which should last a year, aims to collect samples and analyze the soil, in addition to conducting long-term scientific research.
The launch comes in a context of isolation from the country’s space program as Roscosmos has been vetoed by Western powers and seeks sector cooperation with China.
Independent Russian analyst Vitali Yegorov said this mission is a test for Moscow. “The main question is, can you land on the moon?” he asked AFP.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in turn, pledged to continue the space program despite the sanctions, recalling that there were tensions with the West when the USSR sent the first man into space in 1961.
“We are guided by our ancestors to move forward despite difficulties and attempts to hold us back,” Putin said during a visit to Vostochny last year.
Roscosmos director Yuri Borisov acknowledged in June that the mission is “risky”. “In the world, the success rate of this kind of mission is estimated at 70%,” he said during a meeting with Putin.
Authorities in the Khabarovsk region (in the extreme east of the country) have already announced the evacuation of the city of Shakhtinsky, as it is located in a place where the first floor of the launcher could fall.
The last Soviet mission to the moon in 1976, Luna-24, returned soil samples from the satellite to Earth. The space program is a source of pride in Russia for launching the first satellite into orbit, Sputnik, the first animal into orbit with the mission of the dog Laika, and sending the first human in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
Operations are currently struggling with innovation and a lack of funding as Moscow prioritizes military spending. In addition, the industry has been rocked by corruption scandals and failed launches, alongside competition from the United States, China and private companies, such as Space X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk.
The strategic space race to the moon
The superpowers have economic, scientific and/or strategic interests in the space race to the moon, a crucial step towards Mars.
Our satellite is an ideal place to test space materials and vehicles, but also to learn how to live in space, without forgetting the natural resources such as water and metals.
chinese propulsion
The Asian giant plans to send astronauts to the moon before 2030 and its main goal is to build a base there.
China sent its first human into space in 2003, well after the achievement of the Soviets and Americans in 1961, in the middle of the Cold War.
China’s space program has gained momentum thanks to multi-million dollar investment.
In 2019, he achieved a historic achievement: landing a spacecraft on the far side of the moon.
He then returned a spacecraft carrying lunar samples in 2020, an operation that hadn’t been done in over 40 years.
In 2021, he managed to land a small robot on Mars.
The return of the US
NASA’s historic lunar missions were called Apollo.
Half a century later, the American Space Agency is now focusing its efforts on the Artemis program, which officially aims to return astronauts by 2025, including the first woman and first black man on lunar soil.
The goal is to build a base on the moon’s surface and a space station in its orbit. All this to embark on an even more complex and ambitious journey: sending a crew to Mars.
The Starship rocket, developed by SpaceX – billionaire Elon Musk’s company – for these trips, exploded mid-flight during its first test last April.
The new agents on the run
So far, only three countries have managed to land on the surface of the moon, about 384,000 kilometers from Earth: Russia, the United States and China.
But recent advances in technology have made it possible to reduce the cost of missions, encouraging new public and private candidates.
In August, India launched the unmanned Chandrayaan-3 rocket and successfully launched it into lunar orbit. If all goes according to plan, it should land on the moon by the end of the month.
However, the moon is not an easy target. A private Israeli mission that sent a probe in 2019 failed in that attempt. The same problem occurred last April with the Hakuto lander from Japanese startup ispace.
Two other companies, the American Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines, should try their luck later this year.
Source: DN
