Chandrayaan-3 vs Luna-25: ISRO explains key differences

India is not the only country to have launched a mission that seeks to perform a soft landing on the south pole of the moon for the first time. They have a serious competitor in this field.

Russian lunar mission Luna-25, the first in the past 47 years, was launched on August 11, on board a Soyuz 2.1v rocket, with the primary purpose of attempting a soft landing on the moon’s South Pole. Putin’s country surely wants to become the first nation to achieve this challenging feat.

India launched Chandrayaan-3 from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on July 14 and it is expected to land on the lunar South Pole on August 23 or 24.

Chandrayaan-3 vs Luna-25: Which will reach the moon first?

Both the missions – Chandrayaan-3 and Luna-25 are designed for the same purpose. Though Luna-25 was launched nearly one month after Chandrayaan-3’s launch, both missions want to achieve a soft landing on the moon’s South Pole one after the other.

A report by Reuters claims that Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, states that the lander is likely to touch down on the moon on August 21. The landing date was previously estimated to be August 23. On the other hand, Chandrayaan-3 is expected to touch down on the South Pole around August 23.

Chandrayaan-3 vs Luna-25: Key differences

Luna-25 is Russia’s first lunar mission after nearly 47 years. It was launched from the Vostochny spaceport on August 11, 2023. India’s Chandrayaan-3 was launched on July 14, aboard the LVM-3 rocket after four years of ISRO’s last lunar mission Chandrayaan-2.

Chandrayaan-3 is reportedly moving closer to the moon’s surface following orbit reduction manoeuvre. Luna-25 will travel for five days and then spend 5-7 days in lunar orbit before finally making a soft landing on the moon whereas Chandrayaan-3 will cover a 40-day journey before touching down on the moon’s surface.

Chandrayaan-3 will have a lifespan of 1 moon day which is equal to 14 Earth days whereas Luna-25 will have a longer life spanning nearly one year.

Chandrayaan-3 has three major components – a propulsion model (PM), a rover and a lander module (LM). Luna-25 comprises specialized instruments, specially designed for soft landing.

Though both missions are guided by the same ambition, they will land on different sites and hence, the probability of any collision is nil.