Challenging the landing at the South Pole of the Moon, Russia successfully launches the "Lunar-25" probe
On August 11th local time, Russia launched the "Lunar-25" lunar probe, restarting the lunar exploration mission that had been interrupted for 47 years since the Soviet era in 1976. It is reported that the "Lunar-25" probe is scheduled to land in the South Pole of the Moon on August 21 and carry out a one-year scientific research mission.
According to today's Russian television on August 11th, Russia successfully launched the "Lunar-25" lunar probe from the Eastern Space Launch Site in Amur Oblast in the Far East region. This is also the first lunar exploration mission in modern Russian history, and the probe is entirely made of domestically produced components from Russia. Prior to this, the Soviet Union had conducted 24 official lunar missions from September 1958 to August 1976.
It is reported that the "Lunar-25" lunar probe is scheduled to land near the Boguslavsky crater in the South Pole of the Moon on August 21, with a scientific research mission duration of one year. The probe is equipped with instruments to analyze the composition of lunar soil, plasma, and dust to determine whether the moon has resources such as water and rare minerals.
According to the Russian satellite news agency, Yuri Borisov, President of the Russian National Space Corporation, stated that Russia hopes to become the first country to achieve a soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon and plans to conduct at least three lunar missions in the next seven years.
Just before Russia launched the Lunar-25 probe, the Indian Lunar-3 probe entered lunar orbit on August 5th and was scheduled to land at the South Pole of the Moon on August 23rd. If the Russian Lunar-25 probe operates as planned, it will arrive on the surface of the moon 2 days earlier than the Indian Lunar-3 probe, making Russia the world's first country to achieve a soft landing near the south pole of the moon.