As per a report by Reuters, Russia’s recent lunar mission, it’s inaugural one since 1976, is in a competitive race with India, which sent its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander to space last month.

Moreover, it’s part of a larger competition involving the United States and China, both of whom have well-developed lunar exploration initiatives that focus on the southern region of the Moon.

From the Vostochny Cosmodrome located 3,450 miles (5,550 km) to the east of Moscow, a Soyuz 2.1v rocket successfully launched the Luna-25 spacecraft. The launch took place at 2:11 a.m. Moscow time on Friday (1111 GMT on Thursday).

According to Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, the lunar lander is anticipated to make contact with the Moon’s surface on August 21. This contrasts with Roscosmos’ earlier announcement of August 23 as the projected landing date.

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“Now we will wait for the 21st. I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the moon will happen,” Borisov told workers at the Vostochny Cosmodrome after the launch, according to Interfax.

Luna-25, roughly the size of a small car, will aim to operate for a year on the moon’s south pole, where scientists at NASA and other space agencies in recent years have detected traces of water ice in the region’s shadowed craters.

The success of the Luna-25 mission carries significant importance, as the Russian government asserts that the sanctions imposed by Western countries due to the Ukraine conflict, including those aimed at the aerospace industry, have not managed to severely damage the Russian economy.

Additionally, the moon mission serves as a trial for Russia’s increasing self-reliance in space. This comes in the aftermath of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in a substantial reduction in Moscow’s space-related collaborations with Western nations, with the exception of its involvement in the International Space Station. The cooperation between the Russian space agency and NASA on the space station is regarded as crucial for the station’s continued functioning.

Also Read: Russia Aims to Restore Prestige in Race to Moon’s South Pole

“Russia’s aspirations towards the moon are mixed up in a lot of different things. I think first and foremost, it’s an expression of national power on the global stage,” Asif Siddiqi, professor of history at Fordham University, told Reuters.

US astronaut Neil Armstrong gained renown in 1969 for being the first person to walk on the moon, but the Soviet Union’s Luna-2 mission was the first spacecraft to reach the moon’s surface in 1959, and the Luna-9 mission in 1966 was the first to make a soft landing there.

Meanwhile, Moscow shifted its attention towards the exploration of Mars, and following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia refrained from launching probes beyond the Earth’s orbit.

The anticipated timeframe for the Luna-25 spacecraft to depart Earth’s orbit was at 3:30 am Moscow time.

(With inputs from agencies)

Updated: 11 Aug 2023, 06:22 AM IST