The crash of Russia’s Luna 25 spacecraft on the moon on August 19 marked the latest failed attempt at interplanetary space exploration by the Roscosmos Space Agency. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but it is already known that it was caused by a range of problems plaguing Russia’s space program, including a lack of funding and engineers, reliance on state political interests, and vulnerabilities. it is obvious. Compete with Western sanctions on the procurement of critical electronic components.
Launching a research probe to the moon has been a goal of Russian scientists since the 90s. Mars 96, the first interplanetary mission by the modern Russian state, failed in 1996. As a result, the scientific institute decided to moderate its ambitions and tackle a decidedly easier goal – the landing of a lunar rover.
At that time, the Russian space program was in a different situation than it is today. The industry was severely underfunded, but had the highly specialized human resources that led to successful research missions to Venus during the Soviet era. The Soviets were not very lucky to reach Mars, but this was due to imperfections in Soviet electronics, not to lack of professionalism.
Funding for the project stabilized only in 2005, when Roscosmos incorporated the project into the 2005-2015 Federal Space Program. After that, the project had to be repeatedly revised, mainly due to this lack of funding.
In the 2000s, the space program was in a financial crisis, and there was constant competition for funding among various projects within the industry. Their supporters were called “Martians”, that is, those who wished to study Mars. “Madman” – people who give preference to the moon. And an “astrophysicist” who wanted to investigate deep space further. Priority was given to projects supported by international partners or with the promise of ambitious discoveries.
Each persuasion relied heavily on the authority of the main lobbyist. At first the astrophysicists won and were able to work with the European Space Agency to get funding for the Integral Space Telescope project.
When it came to exploring the solar system, Roscosmos’ interest remained in Mars, so the Phobos-Grunt project was prioritized. The mission promised a more ambitious outcome: recovering soil from Mars’ largest moon, Phobos. The moon has always been on the fringes of national interest and was therefore funded on a residual basis.
In 2011, the prospect of a mission to the moon increased, and the Spektr-R space telescope launched in the summer to the delight of astrophysicists. However, the Phobos Grant spacecraft suffered a mechanical failure that winter, fall apart when re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. The lunar rover plan was based on Phobos Grant’s design. That failure forced the engineers to go back to the drawing board. At the time, the composition of the space industry itself was also undergoing major changes. Experienced scientists left and young professionals came in their place. They needed a new, high-risk, ambitious project to gain experience and fame.
Several factors at once influenced the implementation of the Luna program.One of the most significant was the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014, which prompted the United States to sanctions Block the export of high-tech electronic components to Russia. Many critical electronic components had to be repaired or sourced from new suppliers. His one of these devices, the navigation-inertial unit Bius-L, could no longer be imported, so it had to be produced domestically. The Luna 25’s success depends on it performing properly in a crash.
A second difficulty was also created by competition between Martians and astrophysicists. While funding for Russian space research improved throughout the 2010s, missions remained in the race for engineering talent. The state-owned Lavochkin Society has a monopoly on the production of space program components. But its manufacturing capacity was split between making parts for weather-monitoring satellites and its Mars mission and space telescope programs. Due to the high priority of these missions, work on Lunar-25 was delayed.
Finally in 2019, the Lavochkin Institute completed its role in these projects, leaving more time for the lunar program. Recent launch delays and postponements, first to 2022 and then to 2023, were also related to import substitution controls. These control the position of the spacecraft and determine its speed and distance to the lunar surface.
On August 11, 2023, Luna 25 finally launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Far East of Russia. A month ago, India launched its Chandrayaan 3 lunar rover, which was scheduled to land relatively close to Russia’s lunar rover. An unspoken rivalry ensued between the two probes. India got off to a head start, but its technology was following a more conservative trajectory. According to plans, Chandrayaan 3 was scheduled to land on August 23, two days later than the Russian probe.
Ultimately, Luna 25 was able to get closer to the moon than Chandrayaan 3, but by then Russian experts had noticed “worrying signs.”
An error occurred during the initial correction of the spacecraft’s trajectory to the moon, requiring an engine restart. Although not officially reported, it was already clear that the Luna 25 flight was not going according to plan. Once the satellite began orbiting the moon, nothing prevented scientists from leaving the device for days, possibly months, to study and correct its shortcomings. Luna 25 was expected to operate on the moon for up to a year, so it could remain in orbit for a long time in the event of a failure. But if it does, India would have beaten Russia in the race to become the first conqueror of the lunar circumpolar regions.
In addition, the Day of the Russian Flag is celebrated on August 22nd. Luna 25 had the Russian flag hoisted before launch. Perhaps Roscosmos wanted to publish a photo of the Russian flag on the moon in honor of this holiday.
Luna 25’s final mission before touchdown was to enter a pre-landing orbit over the Moon at an altitude of 18-100 kilometers. It took 1.5 times longer than planned to start the engine. This lowered the orbital angle to the point of intersection with the Earth’s surface, and the device collided with the far side of the moon.
The impact of the accident could appear primarily as cuts in funding for future space science projects as Roscosmos drafts a new federal space program for 2025-2034. More precisely, this accident, and the damage it has done to national prestige in this area, is an opportune time to cut research budgets at a time when national priorities are all aimed at the needs of the Defense Department. could be the reason.
Scientific research and lunar exploration are so out of touch with the interests of the current Russian government that Roscosmos scientists and officials are working hard to convince the authorities to provide them with the necessary funding to continue. would need to
Russia’s next lunar mission, Luna 26, is scheduled to launch by 2027 and Luna 27 by 2028. However, these dates are subject to change depending on events on the front lines, domestic economic conditions, and national affairs. Stabilization of power in the Kremlin.
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