According to Reuters, Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and collided with the moon, ending its moon mission. According to a Reuters report, the spacecraft lost contact shortly after it was shifted into pre-landing orbit on Saturday due to a problem, according to Russia’s state space corporation Roskosmos.
“The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon,” Roskosmos said in a statement, as quoted in the Reuters’ report.
Now all eyes will be on India, whose Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is scheduled to make its landing on the Moon’s south pole on Wednesday (August 23).
According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, 2023 (Wednesday), around 18:04 IST. The spacecraft is now just three-day away from its final destination, the moon’s south pole.
India would become the fourth nation in the world to accomplish a soft landing on the moon after the US, Russia, and China if ISRO succeeds in its mission.