Luna 25 facts for kids
Maquette of Luna 25 Moon lander
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| Names | Luna-Glob lander |
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| Mission type | Technology, Reconnaissance |
| Operator | SRI RAS (IKI RAN) |
| Mission duration | 1 year (planned) 8 months, 24 days (in progress) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Robotic lander |
| Manufacturer | NPO Lavochkin |
| Launch mass | 1,750 kg (3,860 lb) |
| Payload mass | 30 kg (66 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 10 August 2023, 23:10 UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat |
| Launch site | Vostochny Cosmodrome |
| Moon lander | |
| Landing date | 21 August 2023 |
| Landing site | Boguslavsky crater |
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Luna-Glob programme
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Luna 25 was a Russian lunar lander mission by Roscosmos in August 2023 that was slated to land near the lunar south pole at the crater Boguslawsky.
Initially called Luna-Glob lander, it was renamed Luna 25 to emphasize the continuity of the Soviet Luna programme from the 1970s, though it is still part of what was at one point conceptualized as the Luna-Glob lunar exploration program. It is the first lunar probe that the Russian space agency Roscosmos has sent to the Moon (notwithstanding the ones sent by the Soviet space program) and would have been the first probe to land on the lunar south pole.
The Luna 25 mission lifted off on 10 August 2023, 23:10 UTC, atop a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's far eastern Amur Region.
On 19 August 2023 at 11:57 UTC, it crashed on the Moon's surface during de-orbit after technical glitches.
Contents
History
The previous Soviet lunar lander was Luna 24 in 1976. Nascent plans for what became Luna 25 began in the late 1990s, with the evaluation of two spacecraft designs having taken place by 1998. Attempts to revive and complete the project continued throughout the 2000s and were punctuated by an aborted attempt at international cooperation via a merger with JAXA's now-cancelled Lunar-A orbiter, and pressure from another attempted cooperative lunar mission with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) (which continued without Russia's involvement).
Initial mission plans called for a lander and orbiter, with the latter also deploying impact penetrators. In its final form, Luna 25 was a lander only, with a primary mission of proving out the landing technology. The mission carried 30 kg (66 lb) of scientific instruments, including a robotic arm for soil samples and possible drilling hardware.
Delays in the 2010s came first from the significant rework and delay brought on by the failure of Phobos-Grunt in 2011. This is the point at which the modern Luna 25 design was developed. Later work on the lander was slowed by resource pressures being placed upon spacecraft developer NPO Lavochkin, such as the weather satellite Elektro-L No.2 and the Spektr-RG observatory, as well the landing platform Russia was contributing to ExoMars 2020.
By 2017, the propulsion system for the spacecraft was in assembly.
The intended landing site was located at 69°32′42″S 43°32′38″E / 69.545°S 43.544°E (north of the crater Boguslavsky), with two backup locations at 68°46′23″S 21°12′36″E / 68.773°S 21.210°E (southwest of the Manzini crater) and 68°38′53″S 11°33′11″E / 68.648°S 11.553°E (south of Pentland A crater).
The planned mission duration of the lander on the surface of the Moon was to be at least one Earth year.
At least 12.5 billion rubles (over US$130 million) had been spent on the project.
Flight
The launch took place on 10 August 2023 on a Soyuz-2 rocket with Fregat upper stage from Vostochny Cosmodrome. On 16 August, the probe entered lunar orbit, with a scheduled landing date of 21 August.
Science payload
The lander will feature a 30 kg (66 lb) payload composed by 9 notional science instruments:
- ADRON-LR, active neutron and gamma-ray analysis of regolith
- ARIES-L, measurement of plasma in the exosphere
- LASMA-LR, laser mass-spectrometer
- LIS-TV-RPM, infrared spectrometry of minerals and imaging
- PmL, measurement of dust and micro-meteorites
- THERMO-L, measurement of the thermal properties of regolith
- STS-L, panoramic and local imaging
- Laser retroreflector, Moon libration and ranging experiments
- BUNI, power and science data support
LINA-XSAN, a Swedish payload, was originally to fly with Luna 25, but delays to the launch date caused Sweden to cancel this plan. Instead, LINA-XSAN flew on Chang'e 4 in 2019.
Crash
On 19 August, 2023 Roscosmos declared an "abnormal situation" on the lander after issuing an unsuccessful command for a short engine burn to move the lander into a pre-landing orbit. Preliminary analysis indicated that the probe collided with the lunar surface following an excessively long firing of the engine. Attempts on 19 and 20 August to locate and re-establish contact with the spacecraft were unsuccessful.
According to preliminary calculations, Luna-25 entered an incorrect orbit before crashing. A commission was formed to investigate the crash.
See also
In Spanish: Luna 25 para niños
