The first images of Russia’s historic lunar probe were released on August 17 (local time).
The Luna-25 spacecraft has sent back photos of the polar crater on the far side of the Moon, according to a statement from the Russian space agency Roscosmos on August 17. This marks Russia’s first lunar probe in 47 years, with an expected lunar landing next week.
The groundbreaking images show the enormous Zeeman crater, which has raised edges nearly 8 kilometers above the Moon’s surface. Located on a part of the Moon that always faces away from Earth, astronomers have previously been unable to observe this crater.
“The images taken today at 08:23 Moscow time show the southern Zeeman crater on the far side of the Moon. The coordinates of the crater’s center correspond to 75 degrees south latitude and 135 degrees west longitude,” Roscosmos stated. “The images obtained significantly enhance the existing information about this crater.”
Image of Zeeman crater in the southern region of the Moon. (Photo: Roscosmos).
The images were created using the STS-L television camera system, developed by the Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Roscosmos noted that Luna-25 also conducted gamma-ray and neutron measurements from the Moon’s surface, as well as observations of space plasma, gas, and dust in the Moon’s orbit.
Luna-25 is the first lunar probe launched by modern Russia, built entirely from domestic components. The spacecraft was developed by the S. A. Lavochkin Association for Production and Science. Launched on August 11, the project aims to be the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing in the Moon’s southern polar region, which is expected to occur around August 21.
The primary objective of the project is to analyze lunar soil for the presence of ice, but Roscosmos has stated that they also aim to test soft landing technology and conduct long-term studies of the Moon’s outer layer and the regolith covering the southern pole of the Moon.
The launch of Luna-25 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur Region signals Russia’s return to lunar exploration after a 47-year hiatus. The original Luna program, which began in the Soviet Union, successfully completed 24 missions to the Moon between September 1958 and August 1976.
