Russia launches lunar landing craft in first moon mission since Soviet era
CBSAug 21, 2023
The Facts
On Wednesday, Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos announced that its uncrewed lunar spacecraft had entered the moon's orbit, marking another step toward the first landing on the moon's south pole in the search for frozen water.
The Luna-25, which launched on August 10 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in far-eastern Amur region and is about the size of a small car, is expected to orbit the moon for about five days before landing on the natural satellite on August 21.
The Spin
Anti-Russia narrative
The Russian moon mission is less a scientific enterprise than a Kremlin PR activity. Since the Soviet Union became the first country to put a man into space in 1961 and landed on the moon in 1976, Moscow has not succeeded in reaching the body. A successful landing of Luna-25 would serve mainly psychological and propaganda purposes to demonstrate strength and independence to the West amid the Ukraine war and targeted sanctions. It remains to be seen whether Moscow will succeed with this mission.
Pro-Russia narrative
A successful landing of Luna-25 would mark a significant scientific and technological achievement for the first stage of modern Russia's ambitious lunar program. While Western media continues to speculate about Russia's alleged geopolitical and propaganda motives, the US, India, and China are pushing ahead with their own programs to explore the moon's water and rare earth deposits. Moscow has not started the new "space race," but it does have the scientific capabilities and resources to join it.
