MOSCOW, July 14 The Russian interplanetary station Luna-25, if everything goes according to plan, will land on the surface of the Moon a couple of days earlier than the Indian Chandrayaan-3, despite the fact , which will be launched only next month, Nathan Eismont, a leading researcher at the Space Research Institute (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said.
The Indian mission «Chandrayan-3» was launched on a GSLV Mk III rocket at 14.35 (12.05 Moscow time) on July 14. Approximately 17 minutes later, the combined module, consisting of a propulsion system, a lander and a lunar rover, entered an elliptical orbit. The Indian Space Agency estimates that the landing is scheduled for August 23.
“Ours should land on August 21. The scenario is as follows: launch on the 11th, then about five days of flight, entry into a low circular orbit near the Moon, then about five days of waiting, and then landing with a transition to an elliptical orbit with low perepopulation during landing. Well, and corrections on the way to the Moon and in its orbit,” Eismont said.
Before embarking on a journey to the Moon, the Indian station will perform five maneuvers to increase the perigee of the orbit around the Earth. The transition to the flight path to the Moon should occur on July 31, after which the station will fly to the satellite for about 4.5 days. Chandrayaan 3 will orbit the moon on August 5, and then Indian experts will conduct several lowering maneuvers before landing.
The previous Indian lunar spacecraft, Chandrayaan-2, entered Earth's natural satellite orbit on August 20, 2019, but its Vikram lander crashed. If the Chandrayaan-3 mission is successful, India will become the fourth country (after the USSR, the USA and China) to successfully land on the moon.
The Russian «Luna-25″ will be the first domestic lunar station in almost 50 years. The previous Luna-24 was launched by the USSR back in 1976. Both Russian and Indian stations should land near the south pole of the Moon, that is, in the polar region, where man-made spacecraft have not yet descended. 99.html» data-title=»The head of NASA announced the competition between the United States and China for a place on the moon»>