Russia’s Roscosmos space agency launched its Luna-Glob lander, later renamed LUNA-25, from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on August 10 aboard a Soyuz 2.1b rocket. The mission was scheduled.
What just happened? The lunar south pole has become the latest prize in the space race between several competing countries. Earlier this month, Russia launched its first lunar lander in 47 years to explore the moon’s polar region. However, the mission was met with complications while preparing for its scheduled landing on the lunar surface.
Russia’s Roscosmos space agency launched its Luna-Glob lander, later renamed LUNA-25, from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on August 10 aboard a Soyuz 2.1b rocket. The mission was scheduled to touch down on Sunday following its 10-day trip to the Moon’s south pole.
However, on Saturday, Roscosmos officials stated that the lander experienced unspecified issues when attempting to begin its pre-landing orbit. In a Telegram message, officials said that an abnormal situation occurred during the operation, resulting in the craft’s inability to perform planned maneuvers within the specified mission parameters resulting in a crash.
