Mission Failure: Russian Astronomer Hospitalized Under Mysterious Circumstances After Putin's Luna-25 Spacecraft Crashes Into Moon
One of Vladimir Putin’s top astronomers and Moon scientists was rushed to the hospital this weekend shortly after the Russian leader’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Mikhail Marov was reportedly taken to the hospital on Saturday due to a sharp deterioration in his health following the failure of the mission.
Luna-25, Russia's first attempt to land on the Moon in 47 years, ended in disaster when the unmanned robot lander crashed into the lunar surface after spinning into an uncontrolled orbit.
According to Roscosmos representatives, they lost contact with the satellite shortly after a craft-related problem led to an "unpredictable orbit."
Marov, whom Daily Star described as a key consultant to the mission as its scientific director, expressed devastation over the failed landing.
He stated that Luna-25 was his "last hope" to see the revival of Russia's lunar program. Marov also emphasized that the reasons for the failure should not be covered up.
"There was a mistake in the algorithms for launching into near-lunar orbit," Marov said. "It must be found. I think the answer will be found in the foreseeable future."
The failure of Luna-25 has since ignited a blame game in Russia, with Putin expected to “dismiss” those that he believes were responsible for Russia's humiliating failure.
The professor, who played a crucial role in the mission, emphasized the importance of Russia returning to space and landing on the moon.
Marov currently remains under observation in the hospital. He described the Luna-25 project as his life, making the failure all the more difficult for him.
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"I am under observation. How can I not worry?” he told reporters after he was rushed to the hospital on Saturday. “This has been very much a matter of my life. It's all very hard.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Putin and Russia launched their first Moon mission in 47 years earlier this month.
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The Luna-25 spacecraft was launched into orbit on the morning of August 11 and was scheduled to land on the Moon’s south pole on August 19.
Instead, the nearly 2000-lb and four-legged spacecraft crashed into the Moon’s surface on August 19 following a series of craft-related problems.
“If they pull it off it will be a massive technological and scientific achievement,'' Tim Marshall, an expert on the geopolitics of space, said of the mission before it failed over the weekend.
"For the first time in history the lunar landing will take place on the lunar south pole,” Roscosmos official Alexander Blokhin added before the spacecraft crashed into the Moon’s surface on Saturday. “Until now everyone has been landing in the equatorial zone.''
Putin himself spoke highly of Russia’s space program and the mission to land Russian astronauts on the Moon’s south pole.
“We are guided by the ambition of our ancestors to move forward despite any difficulties and despite external attempts to prevent us from moving,'' Putin said months before the Luna-25 Moon mission ended in abject failure.