Foreign Desk: Russia has launched its first lunar mission in almost half a century, marking a significant step in its space exploration efforts.
The lunar landing craft called Luna-25 was launched from the Vostochny spaceport in Russia’s Amur region.
The spacecraft is expected to reach its lunar destination on August 23, coinciding with the arrival of the Indian spacecraft launched last month.
Luna-25’s journey consists of a five-and-a-half-day journey around the Moon before spending about a week orbiting the celestial body.
Thereafter, it will land at the Moon’s south pole with the primary purpose of collecting rock and dust samples.
The mission aims to provide information on the lunar environment and assess its suitability for establishing a potential base.
The Moon’s south pole is of particular interest to scientists because of its polar craters that remain in permanent shadow. These craters are believed to contain frozen water, which has the potential to become air and rocket fuel, thus playing an important role in future space exploration efforts.
The attempt marks Russia’s return to lunar exploration since 1976 as part of the Soviet Union (USSR). Along with the US and China, the USSR is among the few to have successfully landed on the Moon. Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, sees the mission as an opportunity to cement its status as a “space superpower.”