NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Captures Images of Crashed Russian Moon Lander

NASA has found the final resting place of Russia's failed Luna-25 moon lander. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured images of a new crater on the moon's surface where the doomed lander crashed.

Failed Moon Landing Attempt

Russia's last lunar lander, Luna 24, successfully landed on the surface of the Moon on August 18, 1976. After this achievement, the country shifted away from lunar explorations to focus on space missions to Venus and to build the Mir space station.

After 47 years, the country attempted to make its first lunar mission using its Luna-25 spacecraft, intended to lead the planned series of lunar probes. The launch was postponed several times in the last five years due to issues over Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

On August 11, Luna-25 took off from a launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East. It aimed to be the first mission to reach the south-polar region of the Moon, which was believed to contain water ice that could be used by astronauts in the future.

Russia's Roscosmos agency hoped the spacecraft would reach its destination as early as August 21. However, on August 19, the agency's communication with Luna-25 was interrupted. This had caused a failure in the orbital maneuver designed to set up its touchdown, sending the spacecraft to an unexpected trajectory. As a result, Luna-25 crashed into the surface of the Moon and then ceased to exist.

Days after Russia's failed lunar landing attempt, India became the first nation to land a spacecraft on the Moon's south pole successfully. After being launched on July 14, Chandrayaan-3 aced its touchdown on August 23. It is currently exploring the polar region using a lander and a small rover designed to operate for one lunar day, equivalent to 14 Earth days.

Crash Site Spotted

Using the estimated impact site provided by Roscosmos, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter went looking for the Luna-25's grave. LRO is a robotic spacecraft orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit.

On August 24, the LRO's handlers imaged the impact site with its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). They compared the new pictures with the area previously captured in June 2022. The analysis revealed a bright, fresh crater on the moon's surface in the past 14 months.

In a statement released on August 31, NASA officials stated that since the newly formed crater is close to the estimated impact point of Luna-25, the LRO team assumed that it was likely created from the failed mission rather than a natural impactor.

The new crater measures 33 feet wide and is about 58 degrees south latitude. NASA officials further stated that the cavity lies on the steep inner rim of the Pontécoulant G crater of the Moon. Meanwhile, Luna-25's impact site is estimated to be about 250 miles from its planned landing area, which is 69.5 degrees south latitude.