Russia’s lunar mission met with a disappointing end on Sunday when its spacecraft, Luna-25, crash-landed on the surface of the moon after losing contact with earth controls. The loss of the lander at a comparatively low-risk stage of the mission will intensify the evaluation of Russia’s challenges in space exploration.
The crash came at a time when Luna-25 was touted to be in the race with India's Chandrayaan-3—it was estimated to land ahead of the Indian spacecraft though having launched more than a month after India's lunar mission.
Russia’s Luna-25, the country’s first moon landing attempt since the 1970s, successfully entered the lunar orbit on August 16. It was scheduled to touch down on the moon as early as on Monday. However, at 2.10 pm (Moscow time) on Saturday, an ‘emergency situation’ developed during an engine firing that was meant to position the spacecraft for landing.
On August 20, just 47 minutes after starting the engine firing, Russian space agency Roscosmos reported that they could not communicate with the spacecraft. Efforts to reconnect failed and Luna-25, having strayed from its intended orbit, collided with the moon’s surface and was lost, in a scene reminiscent of India’s Chandrayaan-2 crash-landing on the moon on September 17, 2019. The Russians said they would create an inter-agency commission to look into the causes of the failure.
Russian technology deficient?
“Developing new space equipment has proved to be challenging for Russia, particularly creating electronics that can consistently function in the harsh environment of outer space,” said aerospace expert Girish Linganna.
As per Anatoly Zak, founder of RussianSpaceWeb.com which monitors Russia’s space efforts, one cannot effectively travel in space, especially for extended periods, without improved electronics. He stated that Russian electronics were consistently lagging behind. They were always trailing the West in this field of science and technology. In reality, this problem impacts the entire Russian space programme, according to Zak.
Launched on August 11, Luna-25 was attempting to become the first mission in the world to reach the south pole of the moon. Many government space initiatives and private companies worldwide are intrigued by this area of the moon, as they suspect it may have water ice that could be valuable for use by future astronauts. Luna-25’s primary objective was to assess moon landing technology.
“When embarking on lunar surface missions, the two most anxiety-inducing junctures are the rocket’s launch from earth and the actual landing process. Over the past four years, three separate attempts to land on the Moon—undertaken by India, an Israeli non-profit organisation and a Japanese company—all managed to navigate the lunar orbit before encountering failures during the final moments of their descent towards the surface,” Linganna added.
He further explained: “When missions go awry during orbital engine firings, the typical reasons include sub-par manufacturing and insufficient testing. These deficiencies were responsible for the failure of Russia’s significant interplanetary probe, Phobos-Grunt, in 2011. Another potential factor is human error, which can lead to embarrassing incidents, such as the case of NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999 which disintegrated in the Martian atmosphere because there was a confusion between metric and imperial units.”
Natan Eismont, a senior scientist from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Space Research Institute who was responsible for Luna-25’s scientific activities, has pointed out that the Luna 25's engine did not behave according to its intended design during the manoeuvres to correct the spacecraft’s trajectory. He has said that that the course correction appeared to have deviated slightly from the planned parameters.
As per Eismont, the mission controllers effectively handled the situation until the final manoeuvre. During the last burn, however, which aimed to position Luna-25 in an orbit preceding the landing and passing within 11 miles of the surface, a substantial push was needed but did not proceed as intended. “It is very likely that the braking thrust was either misaligned, or excessive,” Eismonth said.
Impact on Russia
Reports point out that the failure of the mission could impact President Vladimir Putin, as he had relied on Russian space exploits to bolster his political influence. This fits in with the Kremlin’s story, which many Russians find convincing, that Russia is a powerful nation held back by a West led by the US, which is envious and feels threatened by Russia’s capabilities. The state-controlled space industry has been especially important in Russia’s efforts to reshape its global relationships.
The media reporting on the Luna-25 mission was subdued and this remained so even after the spacecraft’s crash. It was evident that during the 6pm newscast on state-run Channel 1 on Sunday, only 40 seconds were devoted to the early ending of the Luna-25 mission.
With the crash of Luna 25, India will now have the opportunity to place the first probe near the lunar south pole. The Chandrayaan-3 mission has chosen a longer yet more fuel-efficient path to the moon. The landing attempt is scheduled for August 23, 2023. ISRO's spokesperson expressed regret about the Luna 25 crash and said that every space mission involves significant risks and advanced technical aspects.
