Russia just launched its first lunar mission in 47 years, Luna-25

Russia is just launched its first lunar mission in 47 years, Luna-25, from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. The Soyuz carrier rocket with the Luna-25 automatic landing module on board took off at a.m. Moscow time on Friday ( 23:11 GMT on Thursday). The mission will reach the Moon’s orbit in 4-5 days, and then, on August 21 or 22, Luna-25 will commence a soft landing at the Moon’s South Pole, an area with more challenging terrain. After the landing, the mission will collect lunar soil samples and examine them for the presence of ice. Russian state space corporation Roscosmos posts a motion graphics video showing the planned flight path of the module. Key takeaways from the statement of Yuri Borisov, the head of Russian state space corporation Roscosmos, after the launch of the Luna-25 mission to the Moon: 🔻The launch of Luna-25 is a new page in “the practical exploration of the Moon;“ 🔻The launch is “the beginning of the first phase of the long-term lunar program,“ on which Russia will be working with China; 🔻Next three Luna missions, namely Luna-26, Luna-27 and Luna-28, will be launched in 2027, 2028 and after 2030 respectively; 🔻Russia and China will proceed with the “possibility“ of a manned landing on the Moon’s soil and the construction of a lunar base after the launch of Luna-28; 🔻The Luna missions “will be a launching pad for exploration of deep space and distant planets in the long run.“