Posted on 08/20/2023 7:48:18 AM PDT by bitt
Russia’s first lunar mission in nearly half a century came to a violent end when its unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the moon after encountering a problem when it began preparing for pre-landing orbit.
Russian officials had hoped the prestige mission would show they can still compete in space despite their post-Soviet decline and the extreme loss suffered in the Ukraine war.
Its failure highlighted the intense decline of Russia’s authority over space since the days of the Cold War, when Moscow was the first to launch a satellite — Sputnik 1 — to orbit the Earth.
The Luna-25 mission, launched Aug 11, was Russia’s first attempt at sending a spacecraft to the moon since Luna-24 in 1976.
Russia’s state space corporation, Roskosmos, lost contact with the spacecraft at 11:57 GMT Saturday as the ship began experiencing issues while beginning for pre-landing orbit, the agency said.
“The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon,” Roskosmos said in a statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Keep fingers and ALL pointed objects away, b/c Ginger Snaps!
Now ET will have a yard sale on parts.
That’s a shame (cue Seinfeld)
I recall them saying “Question authority”.
“Russia’s first lunar mission in 47 years smashes into the moon in failure”
“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXkve87HJgg“
I bought my first in college. The professors wouldn't let us use them.
+ - * / = "4 banger!"
If the computer code has a glitch you going to ditch.
Everybody knows that math is racist.
/sarc
Our new lunar program is called "Artemis", after Apollo's twin sister. We launched the first mission last year, placing an Orion spacecraft (without astronauts) into lunar orbit for 6 days, then returning to earth. Artemis 3 is planned to place 4 astronauts on the lunar surface in 2025. Artemis is much more complex and ambitious than Russia's unmanned Luna Program.
ESA was partnering with Russia on Luna, but withdrew when Russia invaded Ukraine. Now ESA wants in on Artemis.
A minute and 10 seconds. Not bad at all...
Glad there were no men in it. Brave men all who venture into space.
I bought my first in 1972. Some chain store was having a sale, but they only had 20 for sale. My dad took me at 6 in the morning but warned me that I might not get one. Darn if I didn’t get one of them. When I wasn’t using it for class, my dad was using it to figure out taxes and such.
Best commentary on Russian vs. US tech prowess:
Hope this is still funny in a few years when comparing Chinese vs. US technology after the full effect of wokeism and dumbing down US education has been felt.
A friend at work asked to borrow my calculator. I gave her my HP 41c.
She asked, “Where are the parentheses?”
Reply: “There are none.”
Asked: “Where is the equal key”?
Reply: “There is none”
She promptly handed back the calculator and never asked to borrow it again.
Love RPN notation!!
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