NASA images show the crash site of the Russian Luna-25 lunar probe

The unmanned spacecraft “Luna 25”, which is the first Russian lunar mission Since the mid-1970s, it has collided with the moon on August 19. According to cost estimates The project Russia at least 130 million US dollars (about 115 million francs).

Before and after images taken by NASA show the new crater likely caused by the probe’s impact. Using the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) and information about the impact site, the space agency was able to capture the target images. NASA assumes that the diameter of the hole is ten meters, as the online portal Futurezone.at wrote. Accordingly, the site is located on the steep inner rim of Ponticulant G crater, and about 400 kilometers from the planned landing site of Luna 25.

Got into an uncontrolled orbit

The Russian space agency Roscosmos said that the probe collided with the moon after entering an uncontrolled orbit. Roscosmos had previously reported an “exceptional situation” aboard “Luna 25” that made planned maneuvers impossible. This was the first Russian expedition to the moon since a Soviet probe returned soil samples to Earth in 1976.

Meanwhile, on August 23, India became the fourth country in the world to land a spacecraft on the moon. The Indian Space Agency announced that the Chandrayaan-3 probe landed quietly on the surface of the moon near the South Pole, which has not yet been explored. India is the fourth country after the United States, the former Soviet Union and China to achieve such a maneuver. Almost four years ago, an Indian attempt to land on the moon failed.

With materials from DPA

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