Russian space agency loses contact with Luna-25 probe, suspected of crashing into the Moon

On August 20, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said the Luna-25 lunar probe spacecraft collided with the surface of the planet after encountering an incident while preparing to land.

The Russian space agency launched the Luna-25 lunar probe into space on August 11, 2023. (Source: Xinhua)

According to Russia's TASS news agency, Roscosmos confirmed that contact with Luna-25 was lost at 2:57 p.m. on August 19, Russia time (6:57 p.m. Vietnam time). According to preliminary analysis results, Luna-25 lost contact after colliding with the surface of the Moon.

Roscosmos took measures on August 19 and 20 to determine the location and restore communication with the spacecraft but failed. Roscosmos added that due to the deviation of the actual impulse parameters from the calculated ones, the Luna-25 spacecraft moved to a deviated orbit and no longer existed due to a collision with the surface of the Moon. The agency will investigate the causes of the collision.

Earlier, in the early morning of August 11, Russia launched the Luna-25 lunar probe into space. This move marked the restart of Russia's lunar exploration program after nearly 50 years.

Luna-25's main tasks are to develop soft landing technology, study the internal structure of the satellite, conduct exploration of natural resources, including water, and investigate the effects of cosmic rays and electromagnetic radiation on the surface of the Moon.

Russia's previous probe, Luna-24, was launched into space in 1976. This event made history when samples taken from the Moon at that time proved the presence of water on Earth 's only natural satellite. After Luna-25, Russia plans to launch Luna-26 and Luna-27 in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/co-quan-vu-tru-nga-mat-lien-lac-voi-tau-tham-do-luna-25-nghi-dam-thang-xuong-mat-trang-239066.html