Russia’s Luna-25 Moon lander.
Image credit: Roscosmos
Russia’s reactivation of Moon exploration is on the move – the country’s Luna-25 robotic lander is to be transported to the Vostochny Cosmodrome in early June.
According to NPO Lavochkin, the production leader of the spacecraft, delivery of the Luna-25 is scheduled for the first ten days of June 2023.
Previously, Russia’s Roscomos announced that liftoff of the Moon-bound probe is targeted for July 13th atop a Soyuz-2.1b booster.
Russia’s return-to-the-Moon Lunar-25 hardware undergoes testing.
Image credit: Roscosmos
Hardware issues resolved
The repeated delay of launching the spacecraft was pinned on hardware built to help soft land the craft – Doppler velocity and distance gear. Late last year, that equipment passed testing and was incorporated into Luna-25.
Luna-25 is tagged as the first robotic Moon probe in Russia’s modern history. Under the former Soviet Union, a series of successful Moon missions took place, including the return of lunar specimens via sample return vehicles.
Topographic map of the southern sub-polar region of the Moon showing the location of Boguslawsky crater.
Credit: Ivanov et al., 2015 via Arizona State University/LROC
Given a successful sendoff, Luna-25 is targeted for the lunar south pole and slated to touch down near the Boguslawsky crater.
Russia/China lunar station
Meanwhile, in other Russian back-to-the-Moon news, Roscosmos Director General Yuri Borisov told the TASS news agency that Russia and China as cooperating on the International Scientific Lunar Station initiative.
“We have a wide range of interaction. First of all, this is a joint project on the International Scientific Lunar Station. I think that we have something to work on in this direction and enrich our joint programs,” Borisov told the Zvezda TV channel.
Credit: NPO Lavochkin
Borisov reports that the first stage of creating the International Scientific Lunar station (MNLS) is now underway via autonomous work on domestic lunar programs.
Russia plans to launch three robotic missions to the Moon, then move on to a second phase of putting in place the MNLS.
Joint Mars work
Borisov also reportedly said that Russia and China are already cooperating on issues of human space travel, a collaboration that will be continued. He also stated that following the Moon program, the two countries would evolve interest in the exploration of Mars.
“Russia is perhaps the only country that has the greatest experience in the field of long-term stay of cosmonauts in space, Borisov adds. “I think that all these competencies will be useful not only for the lunar, but also for the future Martian program,” he added, as reported by the Russian Novosti Kosmonavtiki news group.
