Tech Report: Two spacecraft from India and Russia, Chandrayaan-3 and Luna-25, are on the way to the Moon. According to the Russian space research agency Roscosmos, on August 21, the Russian Luna-25 lander will land on the South Pole of the Moon.
Apart from this, ISRO of India has said that Chandrayaan-3 will land on 23 August. According to this, Luna-25 will land on the Moon two days before Chandrayaan-3.
Russia started a moon mission very late compared to India. But before India’s Chandrayaan-3, the Russian spacecraft Luna 25 is going to land on the surface of the moon.
In such a situation, the question arises that, despite starting the journey first, why would India reach the surface of the moon after Russia?
It is known that the weight of Luna 25 is much less. The weight of the equipment and the weight-bearing capacity of the Russian spacecraft are too small.
Luna 25 can lift only 1750 kg. Whereas Chandrayaan 3 can carry a total weight of 3800 kg. This difference in weight makes the relatively light Luna 25 move very quickly. Apart from this, the fuel storage capacity of Luna 25 is less than that of India’s Chandrayaan.
This is the reason that the Russian lunar probe is going to land directly on the surface of the Moon without making too many rounds in the Moon’s orbit. But India will have much more fuel reserves than this. Basically, India’s Chandrayaan will land on the Moon’s surface using the Moon’s gravity for a short spin.
Experts say India wants to use gravity despite having more fuel to cut costs. Due to this effect, Chandrayaan 3 is running a bit slow.