Russia Launches Lunar Mission, in Race with India’s Chandrayaan-3 to Reach the Moon – News18

Russia launched a Soyuz rocket carrying a probe to the Moon on Friday, dwell pictures confirmed, kicking off its first mission to the celestial physique in almost 50 years. The rocket with the Luna-25 probe lifted off at 02:10 am Moscow time (2310 GMT Thursday) from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, in line with dwell pictures broadcast by the Russian house company Roscosmos.

The spacecraft is because of attain lunar orbit in 5 days. It will then spend between three and 7 days selecting the best spot earlier than touchdown within the lunar south pole space. Roscosmos expects the probe to land on the Moon round August 21, a supply within the company informed AFP.

The spacecraft, which can stay on the Moon for a yr, can be tasked with “taking (samples) and analysing the soil” as well as “conducting long-term scientific research”, the Russian house company stated.

The launch is the primary mission in Russia’s new lunar programme, which will get underway at a time when Roscosmos is being disadvantaged of its partnerships with the West amid the battle with Ukraine.

The Russian lunar mission, the primary since 1976, is racing towards India, which despatched up its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander final month to the south facet of the moon. More broadly, post-Soviet Russia’s race is with the US and China, which each have superior lunar exploration programmes.

The mission is vital for the Russian house sector, which is affected by funding issues, corruption scandals and rising competitors from the federal government, in addition to from personal initiatives equivalent to billionaire Elon Musk’s Space X.

(This story has been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated news company feed – AFP)