Russia's Luna-25 Spacecraft Heads to Moon's South Pole after 47 Years
Luna-25, which will conduct studies on the moon's south pole, which has never been explored before, was launched from Vostochni Cosmodrome, approximately 5,550 km east of Moscow.
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After 47 years, Russia sent an unmanned space exploration vehicle called Luna-25 to investigate the south pole of the Moon. The Russian Roscosmos space agency announced that the Luna-25 was successfully launched with a Soyuz-2 Fregat thruster.
Luna-25, which went on a journey to investigate the never-before-explored south pole of the Moon, was launched from Vostochni Cosmodrome, approximately 5,550 km east of Moscow. Russia's Roscosmos space agency has broadcast live footage of the Luna-25 launch.
Luna-25 is expected to reach the Moon on August 23. It will take about 5.5 days for the Russian spacecraft to travel around the moon, then spend three to seven days in an orbit of about 100 kilometers before resurfacing. This voyage, which was postponed many times due to technical problems, is Moscow's first Moon landing mission in nearly half a century. Luna-25 will be the first spacecraft to reach the Moon's south pole.
The mission's primary goal is to develop soft landing technologies, study the Moon's interior, and explore the Moon's resources, including water. Luna-25, which is Russia's first lunar vehicle since 1976, is planned to operate on the lunar surface for a year.
Stating that previous landings took place near the Moon's equator, space researchers point out that the four-legged spacecraft, which weighs about 800 kilograms, will land on the south pole of the Moon for the first time.
source:euronews