Russia’s Luna-25: A Historic Return to the Moon

Russia has successfully launched its first lunar probe in 47 years, marking a historic return to the Moon after decades of hiatus. The Luna-25 mission, also known as Luna-Glob, blasted off on August 10, 2023, from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s far eastern Amur Region, aboard a Soyuz-2.1b rocket. The spacecraft is expected to land on the Moon’s south pole on August 21, 2023, where it will conduct scientific research and test technologies for future lunar exploration.

The Luna Programme: A Legacy of Lunar Exploration

The Luna programme (from the Russian word Луна “Luna” meaning “Moon”), occasionally called Lunik by western media, is a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union and later Russia between 1959 and 2023. The programme has achieved many milestones in lunar exploration, such as:

• The first lunar flyby (Luna 1 in 1959)
• The first lunar impact (Luna 2 in 1959)
• The first images of the far side of the Moon (Luna 3 in 1959)
• The first soft landing and lunar rover (Luna 9 and Luna 17 in 1966 and 1970 respectively)
• The first lunar orbiter (Luna 10 in 1966)
• The first circumlunar flight and return (Luna 16 in 1970)
• The first sample return (Luna 16 in 1970 and Luna 20 and Luna 24 in 1972 and 1976 respectively)

The last mission of the programme, Luna-24, was launched in 1976 and returned about 170 grams of lunar samples to Earth. After that, the Soviet Union focused on other space projects, such as the Salyut and Mir space stations, the Buran space shuttle, and the Mars and Venus probes. The Luna programme was revived in the late 1990s by Russia, which inherited the Soviet space programme after its dissolution in 1991. However, the new missions faced many delays and challenges due to technical, financial, and political issues.

Luna-25: A New Beginning for Russian Lunar Exploration

Luna-25 is the first mission of a new and ambitious Russian lunar programme, which aims to explore various aspects of the Moon, such as its geology, chemistry, physics, and potential resources. The programme consists of four phases:

• Phase I: Lunar orbiters and landers (Luna-25 to Luna-28)
• Phase II: Lunar rovers and sample return (Luna-29 to Luna-32)
• Phase III: Lunar polar base (Luna-33 to Luna-36)
• Phase IV: Human missions (Luna-37 to Luna-40)

Luna-25 is also known as Luna-Glob (meaning “Moon-Globe”), as it is designed to study the global properties of the Moon. The spacecraft has a mass of about 1,750 kilograms and carries eight scientific instruments, including:

• ADRON-LR: A neutron and gamma-ray spectrometer to measure the elemental composition of the lunar regolith
• ARIES-L: A laser retroreflector array to enable precise measurements of the Earth-Moon distance
• LASMA-LR: A mass spectrometer to analyze the lunar exosphere
• LINA: A seismometer to detect moonquakes and meteoroid impacts
• PmL: A magnetometer to measure the magnetic field of the Moon
• SHANNON: A radio beacon to study the lunar ionosphere
• TERMO-L: A set of temperature sensors to monitor the thermal environment of the spacecraft
• TVIS: A panoramic camera system to capture images of the landing site

The spacecraft also carries a small laser altimeter called LILAS, which was provided by France as part of an international cooperation agreement. LILAS will help Luna-25 navigate during its descent and landing.

The South Pole: A New Frontier for Lunar Exploration

Luna-25 is targeting a landing site near Boguslawsky Crater, located at about 70 degrees south latitude on the Moon. This region is of great interest for lunar exploration, as it may harbor deposits of water ice and other volatiles in permanently shadowed craters. These resources could be useful for future human missions and lunar bases.

The south pole of the Moon is also a challenging terrain for landing, as it has rugged topography, variable illumination, and extreme temperatures. Luna-25 will use a combination of sensors, such as a radar altimeter, a Doppler velocity meter, and a navigation camera, to perform a soft landing on a flat and safe spot. The landing is scheduled for August 21, 2023, at about 9:30 p.m. Moscow time (6:30 p.m. GMT).

Once on the surface, Luna-25 will operate for at least one Earth year, or about 12 lunar days. During this time, it will conduct various experiments, such as:

• Measuring the neutron and gamma-ray fluxes from the lunar regolith to estimate its hydrogen content and water ice abundance
• Analyzing the composition and dynamics of the lunar exosphere, which is the tenuous layer of gas surrounding the Moon
• Detecting seismic activity and meteoroid impacts on the Moon
• Studying the magnetic anomalies and plasma environment of the Moon
• Taking high-resolution images of the landing site and its surroundings

Luna-25 will also test technologies for future lunar missions, such as:

• A new propulsion system based on liquid oxygen and kerosene, which is more efficient and environmentally friendly than conventional fuels
• A new thermal control system based on heat pipes, which can transfer heat from the warm parts of the spacecraft to the cold parts without using pumps or fans
• A new communication system based on laser and radio links, which can provide high-speed data transmission and navigation signals

The Race to the Moon: A Global Endeavour

Luna-25 is not the only mission aiming to explore the south pole of the Moon. India’s Chandrayaan-3, which was launched on July 14, 2023, is also planning to land in the same region, possibly within days of Luna-25. The two missions are in a tight race to become the first to achieve a soft landing on the lunar south pole, a feat that has never been done before.

However, both missions have stressed that their main goal is not to compete, but to cooperate and contribute to the global knowledge of the Moon. Both missions have invited other countries to participate in their scientific programmes and share their data. For example, Chandrayaan-3 carries instruments from NASA, ESA, Japan, and Sweden, while Luna-25 carries an instrument from France.

The two missions are also part of a larger wave of lunar exploration that is taking place in the 2020s, involving both government agencies and private companies from around the world. Some of the notable missions include:

• China’s Chang’e 4 and Chang’e 5, which achieved the first soft landing and sample return from the far side of the Moon in 2019 and 2020 respectively
• NASA’s Artemis programme, which aims to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024 and establish a sustainable human presence by 2028
• ESA’s Lunar Pathfinder, which will provide communication and navigation services for lunar missions from a lunar orbit starting in 2025
• Japan’s SLIM and MMX, which will demonstrate precision landing and sample return technologies on the Moon and Mars’ moon Phobos in 2025 and 2028 respectively
• Israel’s Beresheet 2, which will attempt a second lunar landing after its predecessor crashed in 2019
• South Korea’s KPLO, which will orbit the Moon and study its surface and environment in 2026
• UAE’s Rashid, which will land on an unexplored region of the Moon in 2026
• Blue Origin’s Blue Moon, which will deliver payloads and rovers to the lunar surface using a reusable lander
• SpaceX’s Starship, which will transport humans and cargo to the Moon using a fully reusable launch system

These missions demonstrate that the Moon is not only a scientific destination, but also a strategic and economic one. The Moon offers opportunities for scientific discovery, technological innovation, resource utilization, international cooperation, and human exploration. As Luna-25 begins its journey to the Moon, it joins a growing community of lunar explorers who are paving the way for a new era of space exploration. worldnewsstudio.com/russias-luna-25-a-historic-return-to-the-moon/ . Related articles worldnewsstudio.com/indias-chandrayaan-3-successfully-separates-from-propulsion-module-in-preparation-for-the-soft-landing-on-the-moon/