India’s space agency ISRO has revealed plans to attempt a moon landing with its Vikram robotic lander, which will touch down several hundred kilometers away from Russia’s target site at the lunar south pole. The announcement came as Russia faced setbacks with its Luna-25, which crashed on the moon’s surface after encountering difficulties during pre-landing preparations.
ISRO shared its update via X (formerly Twitter), stating that the Chandrayaan-3 mission aims to land on the moon on August 23, around 18:04 EST. ‘India. The Vikram lander, launched in July, is designed to conduct tests on the Moon’s surface composition, seismic activity, temperature and radiation levels.
An important goal of the mission is to detect the presence of water ice within the lunar soil. This frozen water could have the potential to be transformed into air and rocket fuel, which could enable extended human space travel. The lunar south pole is of particular interest because of the belief that the permanently shadowed craters there contain water.
Instead, Russia’s Luna-25 ran into difficulties, leading to an unpredictable orbit and ultimately a collision with the Moon’s surface. Despite the setback, Russian space analyst Vitaly Egorov acknowledged the achievements of the mission, which included taking pictures of the lunar surface and testing various onboard equipment.
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, is investigating the reasons for the loss of Luna-25. The mission was intended to consolidate Russia’s position in space exploration, but faced challenges amid a changing geopolitical landscape.
As India’s lunar mission prepares for a historic landing and Russia regroups after its Luna-25 setback, the quest for lunar exploration continues, marked by both triumphs and challenges.
This article is sourced from and written by AI.
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