For the first time since 1976, Russia launched a rocket to the moon, Anadolu reports. The mission will last approximately one year. In this regard, the correspondents of the Turkish news agency remind us what successes Russia has achieved in space exploration.
Russia, which has sent a spacecraft to the moon for the first time since 1976, wants to gain an advantage in the space race again.
On the eve of August 11, from the Vostochny cosmodrome, located about 5.5 thousand kilometers east of Moscow, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) launched a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with an automatic Luna-25 station.
After a successful launch, the spacecraft should land near the south pole of the Moon presumably on August 21 and begin its mission, which will last about a year.
Luna-25, which will primarily search for water on the Earth's natural satellite, will also investigate the influence of cosmic rays and electromagnetic radiation on the lunar surface.
The head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, in a statement after the launch, noted that the mission's tasks are exclusively peaceful, while spacecraft are planned to be sent to the Moon in 2027, 2028 and 2030.
Pointing out that Russia will also carry out joint projects with China on the moon, Borisov added: "After that, with colleagues from China, we will move on to a new phase – the possibility of a manned visit to the Moon and the construction of a lunar base."
The main mission of Luna-25 is to explore water resources
Luna-25, the first spacecraft sent by Russia to the moon since 1976, consists of two main parts – a landing device and a platform with equipment and instruments.
Luna-25 includes various scientific equipment weighing about 31 kilograms for the study of comic rays and electromagnetic radiation, as well as devices capable of digging the ground and taking samples.
The first confirmed discovery of water on the moon was made possible by data from Chandrayan-1, the first Indian research satellite launched into lunar orbit by the Indian Space Agency in 2008.
Luna-25 will also try to find a source of water on the moon containing hydrogen and oxygen, which are both important for human life and can be used as rocket fuel.
The moon race is gaining momentum
Along with Russia, the United States, China and India have also been conducting active research on the Moon related to exploration and mining in recent years.
The United States and China plan to send a lunar rover and a probe to the moon in 2026.
Meanwhile, on August 5, the Indian Space Agency announced the successful entry into orbit of the Chandrayan-3 spacecraft, sent into space on July 14 to study the south pole of the Moon.
If the third lunar exploration mission is successful, India will become the fourth country in the world after the United States, the former Soviet Union and China to make a soft landing of its ship on the moon.
Experts believe that the water at the south pole of the Moon can be used to extract fuel for future lunar missions or rockets to Mars, and therefore these studies attract the attention of many countries.
Russia's first successes on the Moon
Russia's steps to send a spacecraft to the moon were first taken during the space race between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the United States in the second half of the 20th century as part of the Cold War.
The Russians, ahead of the Americans, sent a man into space for the first time as part of the Soviet Vostok manned space flight program.
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made his first flight into space. Launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome, the Vostok spacecraft made a complete revolution around the Earth. Thus began the space age in the history of mankind.
Meanwhile, the United States developed the Apollo program, which provided for the landing of a man on the Moon, while the USSR began working on its own space exploration program.
After the USSR sent the first female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova into space in 1963, the United States intensified its efforts on the lunar program. Finally, on July 20, 1969, the United States carried out the first manned space flight to the surface of the Moon.
The Soviet Union also continued to work on its lunar program.
The first exploration of the USSR Moon took place on Luna-1
The Soviet Union conducted the first lunar test on Luna-1. Launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome, the spacecraft approached the Moon for the first time in history, but passed by it and entered a heliocentric orbit.
The Luna-2 comic spacecraft, launched on September 12 of the same year, became the first artificial object in history to land on the surface of the Moon.
Sent on October 4 of the same year, Luna-3 for the first time three days after launch received images of the reverse side of the Moon, located in its hemisphere, which is never visible from Earth due to the fact that the Moon's rotation around our planet and its rotation around its own axis occurs simultaneously.
The Luna-10 spacecraft, launched by the Soviet Union on March 31, 1966, served as the first artificial satellite of the Moon.
The spacecraft was placed into a stable orbit to study the Moon's surroundings and the chemical composition of the visible and reverse surfaces. Luna-10 became the first artificial object to orbit the moon and enter its orbit.
Thanks to the work of this artificial Moon satellite, scientists have learned the general chemical composition and types of rocks on the lunar surface.
Zond-5 is the first spacecraft to go to the moon and return to Earth
On September 15, 1968, the Zond-5 spacecraft was launched. The first spacecraft that flew around the moon and returned safely to Earth also made history by transporting living beings on board when flying to the moon.
On September 21, the spacecraft entered the atmosphere and landed in the Indian Ocean.
The first attempt to launch Luna-17, which took place on February 19, 1969, failed, and the rocket carrying the device exploded at the 52nd second of the flight. The second attempt was made on November 10, 1970, as a result of which the ship landed on the surface of the Moon. Meanwhile, on July 16, 1969, the United States made the first landing of a man on the moon.
Luna-17 delivered to the surface of the Moon the world's first automatic self-propelled laboratory controlled from Earth.
The last lunar mission of the USSR – "Luna-24"
The Russians launched the last spacecraft to the moon on August 9, 1976. The Luna-24 spacecraft, after landing on the lunar surface, took soil samples by drilling from a depth of two meters.
As part of this mission, samples of lunar soil weighing 170 grams with traces of water were delivered to Earth.
However, scientists have not been able to confirm that the lunar soil may contain water.
Luna-24 was the last lunar mission of the USSR.
Authors: Ali Cura, Emre Gürkan Abay