The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has congratulated Russia for the successful launch of its first moon mission in nearly five decades. The Luna-25 spacecraft is on its way to the Moon and is expected to meet India’s Chandrayaan – 3 on the India. ISRO took to the Meta-owned social media platform Instagram to share its message for the Russian lunar exploration via the Stories feature.

Russia’s Luna-25 lunar craft
Russia has launched a Soyuz-2 Fregat rocket from the Vostochny launch facility that is carrying the lunar landing craft. The unmanned Luna-25’s journey is expected to take about five days. The lunar craft aims to land near the south pole of the Moon. This is Russia’s first Moon mission since 1976.

The four-legged Luna-25 is equipped with a 1.6-metre-long Lunar Robotic Arm that will help the probe to remove and collect surface deposits. This lunar craft will also conduct various scientific instruments like the study of plasma and dust components of the lunar polar exosphere.

Earlier this week, India’s Chandrayaan-3 space probe entered the moon’s orbit. This lunar craft will also explore the water-rich area near the south pole.

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India Russia lunar race
Russian space agency Roscosmos head Yuri Borisov has confirmed that a lunar lander is expected to touch Moon’s surface on August 21. The agency earlier announced a projected landing date of August 23.

With this mission, Russia aims to achieve the title of becoming the first country to have a soft landing on the Moon’s south pole. India’s Chandrayaan-3 is also scheduled to land on August 23.

How the missions can help scientists
According to the Wall Street Journal, the landing at the South Pole is expected to help scientists understand if there is a possibility of sufficient ice quantities to provide fuel, oxygen and drinking water for supporting human settlement in the future.

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