Russia, on Monday (August 7) said that it plans to launch a lunar lander later this week after multiple delays, in a bid to return to the Moon for the first time in half a century. Ahead of the launch scheduled for Friday, Moscow officials also said they would evacuate a village in the country’s far east.
About the Russian moon mission
In an update, on Monday, the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, said “A Soyuz (rocket) for the launch of the Luna-25 (lander) has been assembled.” It added, “The launch is on August 11.” Russia is set to return to the moon with its Luna-25 lunar lander for the first time since 1976.
Nearly a month ago, in a statement, Russian aerospace company NPO Lavochkina, builder of the moon lander and part of the Roscosmos announced, “work has been completed on the creation of the Luna-25 spacecraft.”
Why is the Russian village being evacuated?
The evacuation will take place in Russia’s Shakhtinsky settlement, in the Khabarovsk region, southeast of the launch site, on Friday, ahead of the launch, as it lies in the predicted area where the rocket boosters will fall after they separate, according to the local official.
“The mouth of the Umalta, Ussamakh, Lepikan, Tastakh, Saganar rivers and the area of the ferry crossing on the Bureya River fall into the predicted (booster) fall zone,” said Alexei Maslov, head of the Verkhnebureinsky district in the Khabarovsk region, on messaging app, Telegram.
He added, “The residents of Shakhtinsky will be evacuated.”
About the Russian lunar mission
According to the Russian space agency, the spacecraft will be launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome which is around 5,550 kilometres east of Moscow. Luna-25 will launch on a Soyuz-2 Fregat booster and will be the first lander to arrive on the South Pole of the moon, Roscosmos has said.
The objective of the recent moon mission is the development of soft-landing technologies, research of the internal structure of the Moon and exploration for resources, including water, said the Russian space agency.
“It is planned that the device will be the first in the world to carry out a soft landing on the surface of the moon in the south pole region and conduct contact studies of the lunar soil for the presence of ice at the landing site,” said the Russian aerospace company, last month.
The lander is expected to operate on the lunar surface for one year.
(With inputs from agencies)
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