Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft experienced a technical glitch on Saturday as it was preparing to transfer to its pre-landing orbit, according to Russia’s national space agency Roskosmos. The spacecraft, which is scheduled to land on the south pole of the moon on Monday, is part of a race to explore a region that scientists believe may contain frozen water and valuable elements. Roskosmos stated that an “abnormal situation” occurred onboard the spacecraft, preventing the planned maneuver. Specialists are currently analyzing the situation, and further details have not been provided.
Earlier, Roskosmos announced that it had received the first results from the Luna-25 mission and that they were being analyzed. The agency also shared images of the Zeeman crater on the moon, captured by the spacecraft’s camera. The Zeeman crater, located in the moon’s southern hemisphere, measures 190 km (118 miles) in diameter and eight km (five miles) in depth.
The Luna-25 successfully entered the moon’s orbit on Wednesday, making it the first Russian spacecraft to do so since 1976. The spacecraft, roughly the size of a small car, is expected to operate on the south pole for one year. Previous findings by NASA and other space agencies have detected traces of frozen water in the moon’s craters, and the presence of water has significant implications for potential lunar resource mining and extended human missions to the moon.
