New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) conveyed its hearty congratulations to Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos. The commendation came in light of Roscosmos’ triumphant launch of Luna-25, a lunar mission that marks Russia’s re-entry into lunar exploration aftera hiatus of 47 years. The Russian mission coincides with India’s Chandrayaan-3, the nation’s third lunar spacecraft, both of which are set to touch down on the Moon’s surface on August 23. Both India and Russia are aiming to secure the pioneering position of becoming the first country to achieve a successful landing at the Moon’s southern pole.
ISRO shared their felicitations on Twitter, stating, ”Congratulations, Roscosmos, on the successful launch of Luna-25. Wonderful to have another meeting point in our space journies. Wishes for (India’s) Chandrayaan-3 & (Russia’s) Luna-25 missions to achieve their goals.
The Russian spacecraft launched early on Friday morning (IST) will take about 5.5 days to travel to the Moon’s vicinity. Luna-25 is reportedly expected to first enter an orbit around the Earth before transferring to a lunar orbit and finally descending on the surface of the Moon.
The primary focus of the Luna-25 mission centers on perfecting soft landing technology—a pivotal advancement in lunar exploration. Notably, there are prospects that this mission could culminate in Luna-25 becoming the first spacecraft ever to reach the southern pole of Earth’s natural satellite, as reported by TASS, the Russian news agency.
In the annals of lunar exploration, only three nations—namely, the former Soviet Union, the United States, and China—have accomplished successful landings on the Moon.
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