Luna-25 vs Chandrayaan-3

 Will Russia's Luna-25 beat Chandrayaan-3 to the Moon?

Russia is getting ready to launch the Luna-25 spacecraft, their first lunar landing vehicle in about fifty years. It will take off on August 11 from the Vostochny cosmodrome in the far east of Moscow.


This week, Russia is preparing to initiate its inaugural lunar expedition since 1976. A Soyuz rocket will transport the 800 kg Luna-25 lander, which is scheduled to make a landing in the vicinity of the Moon's south pole.The primary objective of the lander is to evaluate the presence of ice in the region, a factor that could potentially support forthcoming human inhabitation.

 Notably, this mission closely follows India's Chandrayaan-3 launch to the same southern lunar region, occurring just four weeks prior.

The launch was delayed by almost two years from its original date in October 2021. The Luna-25 mission's main goals are to study what makes up the surface of the poles and the things in the air around them on the Moon.

This launch is happening very close to when the Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched. Chandrayaan-3 is going to land on the lunar south pole on August 23.

Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, has set up a busy plan for the Luna-25 spacecraft. They think that Russia might even land on the Moon at the same time as Chandrayaan-3 or maybe just a little bit before. This has made it seem like there's a race between the two countries to get to the moon's south pole.