Luna 25 is a Russian lunar lander mission that launched on August 10, 2023 and moving toward moon. It is targeted to the south polar region of the Mo
Russia
has reached the moon for the first time in almost 50 years. The Luna-25 mission
was launched on August 10th and successfully reached lunar orbit on August
16th. The spacecraft is in good condition and all systems are functioning
normally. Luna-25 is Russia’s first moon effort since Luna-24 in 1976. The
probe has been checking its required boxes since it launched. Luna-25 still has
a huge milestone ahead: A planned touchdown near the moon’s south pole, which
the mission aims to attempt five to seven days from now. If Luna-25 sticks the
landing, it will study its intriguing environs for the next year or so using
eight science instruments. Among its many tasks will be hunting for
water ice, a resource thought to be plentiful in the south polar region.
NASA
plans to land people on the moon’s south pole in late 2025 or 2026. This would
be the first crewed moon landing since that of Apollo 17 in 1972. The south
pole is of particular interest because it is believed to have stores of water
ice that could support human outposts and supply propellant for spacecraft
headed to Mars and other distant destinations.
How long will Luna-25 study the moon?
Luna-25 is expected
to operate on the lunar surface for one year. During this time, it will study
the composition of the moon’s polar soil and the plasma and dust contained in
the very thin lunar exosphere.
Why are they looking
for water ice on the moon?
There are different ways to extract water ice from the moon.
One method involves using mirrors to redirect sunlight onto the lunar surface
and heat up the water ice in the soil. The water vapor is then transferred into
tanks on the side. Another method involves using microwaves to vaporize water
ice and capture the extracted water in gas form. These methods require a lot of
energy and infrastructure investment.
