As part of the launch of Russia's first lunar landing mission in over 50 years on August 11, a community in the country's far east will be evacuated, a local official announced on Monday.
According to Reuters, the Luna-25 lunar lander, the country's first since 1976, will be launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, about 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow.
Village Evacuation
Shakhtinskyi, a village in the Khabarovsk region of Russia, southeast of the launch site, will have its residents evacuated early on August 11 because it is expected to be in the area where the rocket boosters will crash when they separate.
The Luna-25 lander will be the first to touch down on the moon's South Pole after being launched on a Soyuz-2 Fregat launcher.
The mission's primary goals will be the advancement of soft-landing techniques, investigation of the lunar interior, and resource exploration, including the quest for water. The lunar surface operation of the lander is anticipated to last a full year.
The Luna-25
Luna-25 will land in the south polar region of the Moon. This region is of particular interest to scientists because it is thought to be rich in water ice.
The lander will carry a number of scientific instruments, including a camera, a spectrometer, and a magnetometer. These instruments will be used to study the composition and structure of the lunar surface, as well as the lunar environment.
Luna-25 is a major milestone in Russia's lunar exploration program. The success of this mission will pave the way for future missions, such as Luna-26 and Luna-27, which are planned to launch in 2024 and 2025. These missions will carry rovers and other robotic vehicles to the Moon.
The Luna-25 mission demonstrates Russia's continued commitment to lunar exploration, and it paves the way for future missions that will help us to learn more about our Moon.
Russia's Lunar Explorations
Russia has a long and storied history of lunar exploration, dating back to the early days of the Space Race.
The Soviet Union was the first country to successfully send a spacecraft to the Moon, and it also achieved a number of other firsts, including the first soft landing on the Moon, the first crewed lunar orbit, and the first sample return from the Moon.
Russia's lunar exploration program has been somewhat dormant in recent years, but it is now making a comeback. In 2022, Russia launched the Luna-25 lander, which was the first Russian lander to the Moon in over 40 years.
Luna-25 was followed by the Luna-26 orbiter in 2024, and the Luna-27 rover in 2025. These missions are part of Russia's renewed commitment to lunar exploration, and they are expected to provide valuable insights into the Moon's history and geology.
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