By Bond Robertson 
The first Russian mission to the Moon in nearly 50 years did not go as well as they had hoped.
On Saturday, there were reports that their space probe had some problems while trying to land. The Russians have lost contact with Luna-25, writes technology website Ars Technia.
This is what Luna-25 looked like before it was completed and ready for launch last month.
Photo: AFP
It was then confirmed that Luna-25 had crashed into the Moon after an uncontrolled orbit.
– The device entered an unpredictable orbit before it ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the moon, according to the Russian Federal Space Agency, or Roscosmos, according to Reuters.
Arvid Bertheau Johannessen of the Norwegian Space Center believes it is a shame that the space probe crashed.
– It was interesting to achieve the landing. Now we have to hope India achieves that, says Johansen.
Search for water
Thus, the Russians did not become the first to land on the lunar south pole, in a race they had hoped to win against India, which is scheduled to land on the lunar surface next week.
Luna-25’s plan was, among other things, to search for frozen Antarctic waters, where traces of ice had been observed in craters and also to carry out a number of investigations of ground conditions there.
This is precisely why Johansen thought it was a shame that the landing was unsuccessful.
Arvid Bertheau Johannessen is the Subject Manager for Manned Spaceflight and Exploration at the Norwegian Space Centre.
Photo: Stig Jarnes/Stig Jarnes
Antarctica is in permanent shade and ice has been observed there. He says this ice could be an important source for further discoveries.
This ice isn’t exactly clean drinking water, but it can be a resource that can be used to produce oxygen and fuel.
– a fuel that can be used on trips back to Earth, or to the solar system to other stations, such as Mars, Johansen says.
Loss for Putin
If India succeeds where Russia fails – it will be a blow to President Putin. He has previously exploited Russian achievements in space to his advantage, Writes for The New York Times.
The crash of the space probe is another setback for Russian spaceflight. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all joint space projects between Russia, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) were terminated.
All but one: the International Space Station. Here, says Johansen, you are completely dependent on good and efficient cooperation.
– Russian space has its own launch bases and a whole space program. But it is clear that even major countries need international cooperation, says Johansen.
Next week, a new crew will be sent to the International Space Station. Among them are Danish and Russian.
Photo: AP
India, the United States and China are among some of the countries planning manned missions to the moon.
Yuri Borisov, President of Roscosmos, previously stated that the next stage in Russian space travel is manned flights to the Moon, On par with China. This was before the Luna-25 crash.
– It’s not known what Luna-25 will say about Russia’s further plans for manned space travel and its stated ambitions here, Johansen says.