In Russia’s attempt to lead the way for global space exploration, they announced that their latest spacecraft had crashed into the moon, but now the story has taken a much darker turn.
Russian Dreams Crushed
The Russian’s dreams of becoming an astronomical superpower were crushed when it was revealed their Luna-25 mission had failed in spectacular fashion.
It was announced that their highly-anticipated moon landing had failed, with the spacecraft crashing into the surface of the moon.
A leading physicist and astronomer who played a pivotal role in Vladimir Putin’s moon mission has wound up in a shocking situation since the news broke out.
The man found himself hospitalized in Moscow after Russia’s first lunar expedition in nearly five decades ended in failure.
Mikhail Marov, aged 90, was urgently admitted to the hospital following a sudden and severe decline in his health.
Looking Back at Luna-25’s Failure
Expressing his dismay, Marov shared, “It is so sad that it was not possible to land the apparatus,” shortly after the announcement of Luna-25’s failure.
Russia’s state space corporation Roskosmos disclosed that they lost communication with Luna-25 on Saturday at 11:57 am (GMT) due to a problem that occurred as the spacecraft was being maneuvered into its pre-landing orbit.
Roskosmos detailed that the spacecraft’s trajectory deviated unpredictably, leading to a collision with the moon’s surface, making the Luna-25 inoperable.
Mr. Marov expressed his deep disappointment, “This was perhaps the last hope for me to see a revival of our Luna programme,” he admitted.
Marov explained that there was a mistake in the algorithms, “There was a mistake in the algorithms for launching into near-luna orbit,” he went on to say that the mistake “must be found.”
A List of Failures
His medical condition is “under observation,” and Marov admits he’s worried about the consequences of failing, “How can I not worry? This has been very much a matter of my life. It’s all very hard.”
The mission’s failure echoes Russia’s waning influence in space since the days of Cold War competition when successes like launching Sputnik 1 in 1957 and Yuri Gagarin’s space travel in 1961 were celebrated.
The failure joins a long list of challenges that Russia now faces, including Western sanctions and its attempted invasion of Ukraine.
As India, China, and the United States advance their Luna missions, Russia aimed to showcase its space capabilities through Luna-25, but now their place in the global space race has been decided.
What does the future hold for Russia? We want to hear your thoughts in the comments.
The post Russians Knocked Out of Space Race – Part Two! Luna-25 Crashes, Crushing Dreams of Lunar Exploration first appeared on The Net Worth Of.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Dima Zel
Source: NDVT