Luna-25 crash receives mere 26-second coverage on Russian state television

Russia's first moon mission in nearly five decades took a disastrous turn when its Luna-25 spacecraft lost control and crashed into the moon due to a pre-landing orbit issue.

Russian state television ranked the Luna-25's loss as the eighth news item during its noon broadcast, allotting a mere 26 seconds to the story. This minimal coverage followed reports on fires in Tenerife and a more extensive four-minute segment discussing a professional holiday for Russian pilots and crews.

Mission gone awry

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Roscosmos revealed that the Luna-25 spacecraft, intended for a soft landing on the moon, veered into an erratic orbit before its ill-fated crash. A dedicated inter-departmental commission has been established to investigate the causes behind this significant loss, which had raised expectations of Russia's resurgence in lunar exploration.

This failure serves as a stark reminder of Russia's diminished space prowess since its illustrious days of Cold War competition. During that era, Moscow achieved monumental milestones, including launching the first Earth-orbiting satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957, and sending Yuri Gagarin into space in 1961 as the first human in orbit.

Russia's space ambitions are now contending with formidable rivals such as India, China, and the United States, all pursuing ambitious lunar programs. As the Luna-25 mission faltered, India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was set to make its own lunar landing. The Russian space community faces its own share of challenges, including a beleaguered economy, Western sanctions, and the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

Analysing the setback

The Luna-25 mission faced technical vulnerabilities in its flight control system that required numerous adjustments, according to Anatoly Zak, a space program expert. Additionally, the mission's choice of an ambitious moon landing as opposed to a simpler orbital mission diverged from established practices. While Russia's lunar aspirations include future joint ventures with China, the crash casts a shadow on the program's future.

Also watch |Chandrayaan-3: Second and final de-boosting of Vikram Lander successful

Internal issues in the space programme

Russia's space scientists have voiced concerns about managerial inefficiencies, corrupt practices, and a decline in the rigour of the country's post-Soviet scientific education system. These factors, coupled with unrealistically ambitious space projects, have been undermining the space programme's overall strength.

(With inputs from agencies)

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