On August 21, according to RT news agency, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, Yury Borisov, revealed the main reason behind the Luna-25 Moon mission failure.
According to Borisov, the probe did not shut down its engines in time and veered off its intended trajectory.
“Unfortunately, the engine shutdown did not occur normally, as per the sequence diagram, but was based on a time stamp. Therefore, instead of executing the shutdown in 84 seconds as planned, it occurred in 127 seconds,” Borisov shared with Rossiya 24 television.
This factor was crucial behind the mission’s failure, Borisov stated, adding that a special committee has been established to investigate the incident.
Illustrative image of the lunar lander touching down on the celestial surface.
“Preliminary calculations indicate that due to the abnormal operation of the propulsion system, the spacecraft moved into a free orbit around the Moon and essentially crashed into its surface,” the head of Russia’s space agency noted.
Borisov emphasized that although the mission failed, Russian engineers gained valuable experience while building Luna-25.
“Of course, the team will take into account all the mistakes made in this mission, and I hope that future missions Luna-26, 27, and 28 will succeed,” he expressed confidence.
Luna-25 was intended to land near the Moon’s south pole, known for its rugged terrain.
All previous lunar landing missions from various countries have landed in the equatorial regions of this celestial body.
Before the incident, the Russian spacecraft had successfully approached lunar orbit and sent back high-resolution images of the Moon. The lander was expected to touch down on the Moon as early as August 21, but the incident occurred.
Luna-25 was the first probe sent to the Moon by Russia in 47 years, since the Luna-24 mission in 1976.
