2023-08-16 05:36:39
Russia has shared the first images of its Luna-25 spacecraft which is currently heading for the Moon. It took off on August 10 from the Vostochny cosmodrome, which is some 5,550 km east of Moscow.
The first images of Luna-25 date from August 13. They were taken 310,000 kilometers from Earth and published by the Institute for Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAS). The black-and-white shots show the Russian flag and mission crest on the spacecraft’s hull with the Earth and Moon in the background.
The Moon seen from the Luna-25 spacecraft
Russia and India aim for the South Pole of the Moon
If all goes as planned, Luna-25 is due to land at the South Pole on August 21, 47 years following the last Luna-24 mission. The duration of the Luna-25 mission is one year. The lander has nine scientific instruments with which it will notably study the composition of the upper layer of the regolith to determine the presence of water ice, analyze the lunar exosphere as well as the radiation of neutrons and gamma rays on the surface .
Photo credit: IKI RAS The Earth seen from the Luna-25 spacecraft
Russia is not the only nation on its way to the moon. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft launched by India in early July entered lunar orbit on August 7 and is due to attempt to land at the South Pole of the Moon on August 23.
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