Russia launched its first lunar mission in the past 47 years, Luna-25, on August 11 aboard a Soyuz 2.1v rocket. The main goal of this lunar exploration mission is a soft landing on the lunar surface at the South Pole. With this, Russia is trying to become the first country to land on the South Pole of the Moon. However, it’s not the only country planning to pull off the feat this month. India expects ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 moon mission, launched on July 14, to also make a soft landing at the Antarctic on August 23 or 24.
Chandrayaan-3 vs. Luna-25: Which lunar mission will land first?
Both Chandrayaan-3 and Luna-25 share the same ambition. Although the launches were separated by nearly a month, the two missions are expected to achieve soft landings on the moon in succession. According to the Russian Space Agency, report According to Reuters, the lander is expected to land on the moon on August 21. The space agency had previously expected the landing date to be August 23. Chandrayaan-3 is expected to land on the lunar surface around August 23.
Chandrayaan-3 vs. Luna-25: Key Differences
Russia’s Luna-25 is the country’s first lunar mission in nearly 50 years. It was launched from the country’s Eastern Spaceport on August 11, 2023 aboard a Soyuz 2.1v rocket. Meanwhile, ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 was launched within four years of India’s last lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2. India launched its lunar mission on an LVM-3 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
Luna-25 will make a five-day journey, then spend five to seven days in lunar orbit before landing on the moon. Meanwhile, Chandrayaan-3 is on a nearly 40-day journey to soft-land on the moon.
India’s Chandrayaan-3 will have a mission life of 14 Earth days or one lunar day, while Chandrayaan-25 will have a much longer mission life of about a year. The Lander Module (LM), Rover and Propulsion Model (PM) are the three main components of Chandrayaan-3. Luna-25 consists of specialized instruments designed for lunar soft landings.
It’s important to note that the landing locations for both missions are different, so there are no surprises.
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