BRUSSELS, August 11. /TASS/. The successful launch of the Russian automatic probe Luna-25 to the Moon has heated up the space race to reach the valuable resources of the Earth's natural satellite, which is afoot between Russia and China, on the one hand, and the United States and NATO, on the other, the European edition of the newspaper Politico said in a comment.
"Russia shoots for the Moon as space race against US heats up. Washington and Moscow are scrambling to win the lunar south pole and its natural resources. Despite war and sanctions, Vladimir Putin is trying to haul Russia back into the space race," notes Politico.
"If they pull it off, it will be a massive technological and scientific achievement," said Tim Marshall, author of The Future of Geography on the geopolitics of space. He argues a successful Russian landing, and fruitful year of research, would mark a big step forward in plans to build a Moon base with China by the 2030s.
The periodical emphasizes that Russia's Luna-25 mission is being dispatched to scope out the lunar south pole, where scientists believe there's a plentiful supply of water locked in ice in the perpetual shade of mountain ridges. Firming up water reserves is a critical requirement for supporting life on the Moon with breathable oxygen, drinking water and even rocket fuel, which would then help space-faring nations further explore the cosmos from any lunar outpost in the future.
Politico at the same time believes that the US and its allies are still in the lead in the lunar race because, unlike Russia and China, they intend to send a manned mission to the Moon in the coming years as part of their multinational Artemis program, which involves 29 countries, including most NATO states. The agreements signed by the countries participating in the Artemis program include their support for Washington's rules for the use of space resources in exchange for future exclusive access to certain commercial zones around, for example, a Moon base next to icy or resource-rich deposits, Politico notes.
According to the newspaper, the successes of Russia and China in the competing project of lunar exploration will mean that in space it will be impossible to establish an American world order based on rules, and each of the space powers will be guided by its own norms of space exploration.
Luna-25
The Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the Luna-25 automatic probe was launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome at 2:10 a.m. Moscow time. On August 16, the apparatus is to enter the near-lunar orbit, and on August 21 it is expected to make a soft landing.
The main task of Luna-25 will be to test soft landing technology. The mission may become the first apparatus to land at the South Pole of the Earth's natural satellite. The station will study the internal structure and exploration of natural resources, including water, as well as investigate the impact of cosmic rays and electromagnetic radiation on the surface of the Moon.
Several cameras are mounted on the craft. They will capture a timelapse of the landing, an HDR panorama of the Earth's natural satellite and settling dust for its subsequent study. Luna-25 will conduct pre-programmed surveys, as well as take images of the Moon on command from Earth.