Russia's Luna-25 in a race with India's Chandrayaan-3 to be the first to reach moon's south pole

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Russia is planning to launch a lunar mission this week after multiple delays, triggering a race with India's Chandrayaan-3 to reach the Moon's south pole. Russia hopes to return to the Moon for the first time in nearly fifty years. The launch, which is scheduled for the early hours of Friday (August 11), is Russia's first since 1976. A Soyuz rocket had been assembled at the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Russian Far East for the launch of the Luna-25 lander. The four-legged lander, which weighs around 800 kilogrammes, is expected to touch down in the region of the lunar south pole. The launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome, 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow, will take place four weeks after India sent up its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander which is set to touch down at the pole on August 23. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, has outlined an ambitious timeline for its Luna-25 spacecraft. The craft is slated to embark on a five-day journey to the Moon, followed by 5-7 days in lunar orbit, culminating in a descent to one of three potential landing sites near the Moon's south pole. This carefully calculated timetable suggests that Russia could potentially match or narrowly surpass Chandrayaan-3's lunar touchdown. Navigating the challenging terrain of the moon's south pole poses a formidable challenge. However, this region holds immense scientific interest due to its speculated abundance of ice—a resource with vast implications. This ice could potentially serve as a reservoir for fuel, oxygen, and drinking water, thereby bolstering future lunar habitation endeavours.

ISRO successfully performs orbit reduction manoeuvre, brings Chandrayaan-3 closer to moon

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