The Institute for Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences has completed an express analysis of telemetry and measurement data of scientific instruments on board the Luna-25 automatic station, performed on August 13, 2023 in two sessions of the first inclusions at a distance of about 310 thousand km from Earth. All instruments showed full working capacity and readiness for lunar exploration. Their analog and digital nodes and blocks worked perfectly.
The cameras of the onboard television STS-L received the first images from space, which will go down in the history of Russian cosmonautics. These pictures show the structural elements of the Luna-25 spacecraft against the background of the Earth, from which we have already left forever, and against the background of the Moon, to which we will arrive very soon. The third picture shows the mission emblem and the bucket of the onboard manipulator.
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| The image was taken by the camera of the STS-L complex on board the Luna-25 spacecraft on August 13, 2023 during a flight to the Moon. The mission emblem and the bucket of the lunar manipulator complex LMC are visible (top left). |
| Source: ICI RAS |
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| Images of the Earth and the Moon taken by the camera of the STS-L complex on board the Luna-25 spacecraft during the flight to the Moon on 08/13/2023, from a distance of about 310 thousand km from Earth. |
| Source: ICI RAS |
During the sessions, the nuclear physics device HADRON-LR measured the radiation background on the apparatus, to which galactic cosmic rays make a significant contribution. These rays fill the entire interplanetary space, under their influence, our instruments and future cosmonaut expeditions will have to work on the moon. Therefore, it was extremely necessary to find out the radiation background on board the spacecraft in advance, even on the flight.
In general, an express analysis of the data of the first scientific measurements in space showed that the Luna-25 automatic vehicle is a well-designed reliable complex. Unlike the expeditions of the Soviet era, there is no hermetic compartment at the station and the devices operate in outer space. At the same time, the station's systems provide the onboard scientific equipment with optimal thermal conditions, the necessary resources for energy, management and radio communications.
On August 14, 2023, the Luna-25 spacecraft continues its flight to the Earth's natural satellite in an orientation controlled by stellar sensors created at the ICI RAS. All systems of the spacecraft are working normally, communication with the station is stable, the energy balance is positive.
Additional information
13.08.2023 The Russian automatic station took the first pictures during the flight to the Moon / Roscosmos GC News
The Luna-25 project on the website of the ICI RAS