Russia set to evacuate whole village for its first lunar lander mission in nearly 50 years

On August 11, Russia is set to evacuate a village located in its far eastern region, coinciding with the initiation of Russia's inaugural lunar lander mission in almost fifty years. The upcoming Luna-25 lunar lander, marking Russia's return to lunar exploration since 1976, is scheduled for launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, situated approximately 3,450 miles (5,550 km) to the east of Moscow, as confirmed by Russia's Roscosmos space agency.

The inhabitants of the Shakhtinskyi settlement in Russia's Khabarovsk region, located to the southeast of the launch site, will undergo evacuation. This measure is being taken due to the village's location within the anticipated zone where the rocket boosters are expected to descend following their separation.

"The mouth of the Umalta, Ussamakh, Lepikan, Tastakh, Saganar rivers and the area of the ferry crossing on the Bureya River fall into the predicted (booster) fall zone," Alexei Maslov, head of the Verkhnebureinskyi district in the Khabarovsk region, said on the Telegram messaging app. "The residents of Shakhtinskyi will be evacuated."

First lander to arrive on the South Pole of the moon

Utilising a Soyuz-2 Fregat booster, Luna-25 is poised for launch and holds the distinction of being the pioneering lunar lander set to touch down on the moon's South Pole, as stated by Roscosmos.

The primary goal of this mission revolves around advancing soft-landing technologies, investigating the Moon's internal composition, and conducting resource exploration, particularly focusing on the presence of water. The anticipated operational duration of the lander on the lunar surface is approximately one year.

Russia follows India's suit

On July 14, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) initiated the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which is also dedicated to accomplishing a soft landing at the Moon's South Pole. The spacecraft is scheduled to make its soft landing attempt on August 23, 2023. A successful landing would position India as the inaugural country to achieve a landing in the relatively unexplored South Pole region. This achievement would mark India as the fourth nation, following the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union, to achieve a successful soft landing on the Moon.

Recently, on August 5, 2023, ISRO unveiled the first images of the Moon captured by the Chandrayaan-3 mission after it had entered lunar orbit earlier that Saturday.