Chandrayaan-3: Russian Consul General wishes luck to India’s Moon mission after Luna-25 crash

Chandrayaan-3 Moon landing: Russian Consul General to South India, Oleg Nikolayevich Avdeev, wished India’s Moon mission success and said that he is eagerly waiting for the landing. This comes after Russia’s own Luna-25, the country’s first Moon mission in 47 years, crashed.

The Consul General said that he is sure Chandrayaan-3 will be a success and the rover will land safely. "Everybody in India and also myself are all eagerly waiting for tomorrow's event in the lunar orbit. I am sure that it will be a success for the Indian lunar program and the rover will land safely and start functioning...I am sure this will be a very fruitful lunar program for India and it will definitely be a great success and there will be more exploration on the moon,” said the Russian dignitary told news agency ANI.

Russia’s Luna-25 that was scheduled to land on the Moon ahead of Chandrayaan-3, spun out of control and crashed on the lunar surface due to a problem in preparing for the pre-landing orbit.

Roskosmos, the Russian space corporation said that it lost control with the spacecraft at 11:57 GMT on Saturday. "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.

Meanwhile, Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to land on August 23 at 6:04 pm after beginning its powered descent at 5:45 pm. ISRO’s Moon mission has been inching towards the lunar surface. On Tuesday, the organisation shared images of the Moon, captured by Lander Imager Camera 4.

ISRO also announced that the mission is on schedule and that the systems are undergoing regular checks. This update came as senior ISRO scientist Nilesh M Desai said that the position of the lander will be checked and a decision on the landing will be taken based on that. If the position of the lander is not suitable, the landing might get postponed to August 27.

“The mission is on schedule. Systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing,” said ISRO.

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