A photo of the crater at the crash site of “Luny-25” was published

The American aerospace agency NASA published pictures of a new crater on the Moon, suggested that it was formed as a result of the fall of the Russian space station “Luna-25” on the surface of the Earth’s satellite near its south pole.

The photo was taken on August 24 by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is in orbit around the Moon. It was published together with a photo of the same area taken in June 2020. A small crater is present in the new picture, absent in the old one.

As stated in the NASA message, the diameter of the new crater is approximately 10 meters. The American agency comes to the conclusion that, most likely, it was not formed due to natural causes, but due to the fall of the Russian apparatus.

“Luna-25” was the first lunar mission in post-Soviet Russia. The rocket with the device was launched on August 11. “Luna-25” was launched into the orbit of the Earth’s satellite, however, during the launch into the pre-landing orbit, according to Roscosmos, the engine did not turn off in time. As a result, on August 19, the station crashed into the surface of the Moon and, as Roscosmos reported, “ceased its existence.”

A few days later, the Vykram landing module of the Indian Chandrayaan-3 mission made a successful landing in approximately the same area. The Indian lunar rover is successfully operating on the Moon, having transmitted photographs to Earth. He also analyzed the chemical composition of the soil near the Moon’s pole.