India's Chandrayaan-3 Mission different from Russia's Luna-25, says ISRO scientist

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Chandrayaan-3 was launched on 14 July whereas Luna-25 took off on 11 August. Chandrayaan-3 is expected to land on the lunar surface around August 23 after completing a 40-day journey. On the other hand, Luna-25 is expected to land on the moon around August 21, two days ahead of Chandrayaan-3.

However, both missions will attempt to land on the lunar south pole. The Russian lunar mission is racing against India, which launched its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander last month. Chandrayaan-3 may land after 40 days on Moon's south pole due to the spacecraft's reliability on the gravitational forces of the Earth and moon, a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation explained.

Luna-25, on the other hand, is a high-powered rocket with a higher fuel load, capable of powering the spacecraft through the mission, without having to rely on external help. With Luna-25, Russia has launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years in a bid to be the first nation to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole. A Soyuz 2.1 rocket carried Luna-25 craft on 10 August from the Vostochny cosmodrome, 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow.

Luna-25, roughly the size of a small car, whose lander is expected to touch down on the moon on 21 August. No country has made a soft landing on the south pole. India's Chandrayaan-2 failed in 2019.

India's ambitious third Moon mission 'Chandrayaan-3' will safely touch down near the Moon's little-explored south pole between August 23 and 24. Developed by ISRO, Chandrayaan-3 includes a lander module named Vikram, which means "valour" in Sanskrit, and a rover named Pragyan, the Sanskrit word for wisdom. If the landing is successful the rover will roll off Vikram and explore the nearby lunar area,