Russian space agency chief's big statement after Luna 25 crash: ‘Main reason for failure is…’

A day after the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced its Moon mission ‘Luna 25’ had crashed, the chief of the agency vowed to “stay in the lunar race”. In an interview with a Russian TV channel, Yuri Borisov said, “In no case should the lunar programme be interrupted, that would be the worst decision,” reported news agency AFP.

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Borisov went on to blame the country's decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mission's failure.

“Interrupting the lunar programme for almost 50 years is the main reason for the failure of Luna 25. The invaluable experience that our predecessors accumulated in the 1960s and 1970s was practically lost during the interruption of the programme,” he said.

The Roscosmos had launched its Moon mission Luna 25 for the lunar south pole on August 11 reviving Soviet Union-era lunar exploration missions. The mission that n aimed to study the composition of the lunar polar regolith (surface material) and the plasma and dust components of the lunar polar exosphere - was scheduled to attempt a soft landing on Moon on August 21, ahead of India's Chandrayaan 3-moon mission.

However, on August 21, a preliminary analysis of the lunar mission suggested that a deviation between the actual and calculated parameters of the propulsion manoeuvre led to the spacecraft transitioning into an unintended orbit, resulting in its collision with the lunar surface and subsequent loss.

Also read: Setback to Russia's moon mission? What exactly happened to Luna-25?

“The engine that was supposed to put the spacecraft into pre-landing orbit worked for 127 seconds instead of the planned 84 seconds. This was the main cause of the probe's crash,” Borisov told the Russian channel, as quoted by AFP.

He added that a special commission has begun looking into the exact causes of the incident.

(With inputs from agencies)