Following Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft’s recent collision with the Moon, renowned astronomer and Moon scientist Mikhail Marov was taken to the hospital over the weekend. The event, which was Russia’s first lunar landing attempt in 47 years, happened soon after the lunar lander’s catastrophic failure.
The unmanned robot lander from the Luna-25 mission, which was supposed to land on the Moon’s south pole, crashed into the lunar surface as a result of craft malfunctions that caused an unstable orbit. Not long after the breakdown, Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, lost touch with the satellite.
The mission’s scientific director and important consultant, Mikhail Marov, voiced his profound sadness at the mission’s failure. Declaring that Luna-25 was his “last hope” for Russia’s lunar program to be revived, he asked that the reasons for its failure not be kept a secret.
Marov highlighted the necessity to find and fix the problem, citing it as a possible cause of the failure in the algorithms for launching into a near-lunar orbit. Due to the failure of Luna-25, Russia has begun to assign blame, with the expectation that anyone found to be at fault will pay a price.
The well-known astronomer emphasized the importance of Russia’s attempt to land on the Moon and its return to space research. Marov, who is still being monitored in the hospital, has expressed how much he cares about the Luna-25 project and the emotional damage it caused.
The Luna-25 mission’s failure was a major blow to Putin’s hopes for Russia’s space program and the goal of landing Russian humans on the Moon’s south pole. Putin and the country, however, remained optimistic about the mission’s success and the scientific breakthroughs it would bring, even in the face of disaster.
The mission’s technological and scientific aspirations were previously praised by experts, who also highlighted the mission’s historic attempt to land on the lunar south pole—a feat never before achieved in lunar exploration. Putin’s goals of advancing Russia’s space program in spite of difficulties and outside hindrances met a grim reality with the Luna-25’s unsatisfactory conclusion.