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Russia to launch lunar mission Friday, first in nearly 50 years

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A model of a Russian orbital space station presented by Roscosmos State Space Corporation is exhibited during the Army-2022 International Military and Technical Forum held in the Patriot Park, in Kubinka outside Moscow, Russia, 15 August 2022. EPA-EFE/MAXIM SHIPENKOV" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/08/07/20230807-roscosmos.jpg"/><figcaption>A model of a Russian orbital space station presented by Roscosmos State Space Corporation is exhibited during the Army-2022 International Military and Technical Forum held in the Patriot Park, in Kubinka outside Moscow, Russia, 15 August 2022. <em>EPA-EFE/MAXIM SHIPENKOV</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MOSCOW - Russia said Monday it plans to launch a lunar lander this week after multiple delays, hoping to return to the Moon for the first time in nearly fifty years.</p><p>Russian space agency Roscosmos said it had scheduled the launch of the Luna-25 lander for the early hours of Friday.</p><p>With the lunar mission, Russia&#x27;s first since 1976, Moscow is seeking to restart and build on the Soviet Union&#x27;s pioneering space program.</p><p>The launch is the first mission of Moscow&#x27;s new lunar project and comes as President Vladimir Putin looks to strengthen cooperation in space with China after ties with the West broke down following the start of Moscow&#x27;s offensive in Ukraine last year.</p><p>Engineers have assembled a Soyuz rocket at the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Russian Far East for the launch of the lander, Roscosmos said.</p><p>&quot;The Luna-25 will have to practice soft landing, take and analyze soil samples and conduct long-term scientific research,&quot; Roscosmos said in a statement.</p><p>The four-legged lander, which weighs around 800 kilograms (1,750 pounds) , is expected to touch down in the region of the lunar south pole. By contrast, most previous Moon landings have occurred near the lunar equator.</p><p>The spacecraft is expected to reach the Moon around five days after launch.</p><div><strong>&#x27;TOTAL SANCTIONS&#x27;</strong></div><p>After Putin sent troops to Ukraine last year, the European Space Agency (ESA) said it would not cooperate with Moscow on the upcoming Luna-25 launch as well as future 26 and 27 missions.</p><p>Despite the pullout, Moscow said it would go ahead with its lunar plans and replace ESA equipment with Russian-made scientific instruments.</p><p>Speaking at the Vostochny cosmodrome last year, Putin said the Soviet Union put the first man into space in 1961 despite &quot;total&quot; sanctions.</p><p>The Kremlin chief insisted Moscow would similarly continue to develop its lunar program despite current Western sanctions in response to the assault in Ukraine.</p><p>&quot;We are guided by the ambition of our ancestors to move forward, despite any difficulties and any attempts to prevent us in this movement from the outside,&quot; Putin said.</p><p>In June, the head of Russia&#x27;s space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, described the upcoming launch as high-risk.</p><p>&quot;This mission involves landing at the south pole. No one in the world has ever done such things,&quot; he said during a meeting with Putin.</p><p>&quot;The probability of successful completion of such missions is estimated at around 70 percent.&quot;</p><div><strong>EVACUATION</strong></div><p>Ahead of Friday&#x27;s launch, local authorities said that residents would be evacuated from the village of Shakhtinsky in the far-eastern region of Khabarovsk, where the rocket&#x27;s boosters are expected to fall.</p><p>During the last Soviet Moon mission in 1976, the Luna-24 brought back samples of lunar soil.</p><p>With Sputnik, the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite into space in 1957 and later sent into orbit the first animal, a dog named Laika, the first man, Yuri Gagarin, and the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova.</p><p>But compared with the Soviet era, modern Russia has struggled to innovate and its space industry is fighting to secure state funding while the Kremlin prioritises military spending.</p><p>Russia&#x27;s space agency is still reliant on Soviet-designed technology and has faced a number of setbacks, including corruption scandals and botched launches.</p><p>Moscow is also falling behind in the global space race, facing tough competition from the United States and China.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uzmSWw3INlk?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Russian space agency Roscosmos said it had scheduled the launch of the Luna-25 lander for the early hours of Friday.