Luna 25
| Names | Luna-Glob lander |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Technology, reconnaissance |
| Operator | Roscosmos |
| Mission duration | 1 year (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | NPO Lavochkin |
| Launch mass | 1,750 kg |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2019 |
| Rocket | Soyuz |
| Launch site | Baikonur/Vostoichny |
| Moon lander | |
| Landing site | Boguslavsky crater |
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Luna 25 (Luna-Glob lander) is a planned lunar lander mission by the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos). It will land near the lunar south pole at the Boguslavsky crater. It was renamed from Luna-Glob lander to Luna 25 to emphasize the continuity of the Soviet Luna programme from the 1970s, though it is still part of what was at one point conceptualized as the Luna-Glob lunar exploration program. The launch is scheduled for 2019.
Nascent plans for what is now Luna 25 began in the late 1990s, with the evaluation of two spacecraft designs having taken place by 1998. Attempts to revive and complete the project continued throughout the 2000s and were punctuated by an aborted attempt at international cooperation via a merger with JAXA's now-cancelled Lunar-A orbiter, and pressure from another attempted cooperative lunar mission with ISRO (which continued without Russia's involvement).
Delays in the 2010s came first from the significant rework and delay brought on by the failure of Phobos-Grunt in 2011. This is the point at which the modern Luna 25 design was developed. Later, work on the lander was slowed by resource pressures being placed upon spacecraft developer NPO Lavochkin, such as the weather satellite Elektro-L No.2 and the Spektr-RG observatory as well the landing platform Russia is contributing to ExoMars 2020.
By 2017, the propulsion system for the spacecraft was in assembly.
Initial mission plans called for a lander and orbiter, with the latter also deploying high-speed penetrators. In its current form, Luna 25 is a lander only, with a primary mission of proving out the landing technology. The mission will carry 30 kg (66 lb) of scientific instruments, including a robotic arm for soil samples and possible drilling hardware.
The launch is currently planned for 2019 on a Soyuz-2-1b Fregat-M rocket either from Baikonur or Vostoichny.
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