'All eyes on Chandrayaan-3': Meme fest explodes after Russia's first moon mission in 47 years ends in a crash

After a 47-year hiatus, Russia's return to lunar exploration suffered a major setback as the Luna-25 spacecraft lost control and crashed onto the moon's surface. Roskosmos, the state space corporation, disclosed that contact with the craft was severed shortly after it encountered complications while maneuvering into a pre-landing orbit on a Saturday.

In a statement, Roskosmos lamented, "The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon."

This failure underscores the significant challenges facing Russia's space program and serves as a stark reminder of the decline in its space capabilities since the heady days of the Cold War. During that era, Russia achieved historic milestones, such as launching the world's first satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957 and sending Yuri Gagarin as the first human into space in 1961.

Remarkably, Russia had refrained from moon missions since Luna-24 in 1976, a period characterized by Leonid Brezhnev's leadership. Luna-25 had been on a mission to execute a soft landing on the moon's south pole, with the intended date set for August 21, as communicated by Russian space officials.

Russia's endeavors in space have been in fierce competition with other nations, particularly India, whose Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft had its own moon landing mission slated for around the same time. Furthermore, Russia faces formidable competition from China and the United States, both of which harbor ambitious lunar exploration plans.

Meanwhile, a meme fest exploded on X, formerly known as Twitter, with several Indians now awaiting to see the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon on August 23 at around 6:04 pm.