“I have sad news,” Orak began, “Recently, Russia’s lunar mission did not land successfully on the Moon.”
Verum’s eyes widened, “How and why?”
Felix furrowed his brow, “That’s terrible. What went wrong?”
“Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft was supposed to land on the Moon, but it spun out of control and crashed during its preparation to land. The spacecraft encountered a problem as it was getting ready for its pre-landing orbit, and it veered into an unpredictable path, leading to a collision with the moon’s surface,” Orak explained.
Scorch sighed, “That’s a huge setback for Russia’s space program, isn’t it?”
Orak nodded sadly, and after a pause added, “Yes, it’s a significant blow. This was modern Russia’s first lunar mission in 47 years. During that time, Russia was part of a group of countries called the Union Soviet. The Union Soviet was known as a space superpower in the 1950s. It has launched Luna-24 in 1976, which landed successfully.”
Verum’s crystal ball pinged right then and flashed a cue card displaying the following, “Mysticals, do you also know that Luna-24 was the last spacecraft to land on the Moon until China’s spacecraft Chang’e-3 landed in 2013?”
“Oh! Interesting trivia, dear crystal ball. But, Orak,” Verum asked, “why did Russia attempt a moon mission after such a long time?”
“Russia wanted to demonstrate it could still compete in space exploration despite the challenges. They aimed to rekindle their space glory,” Orak replied.
“It’s a gentle reminder to laymen that space exploration is tough. Even the United States and the Soviet Union faced their share of failures,” Felix said and patted Orak’s back.
“Indeed,” sighed Orak, “therefore, it is important to laud the efforts of the relentless scientists from every nation who dream to reach the Moon, the outer space.”
As the Gifted Four discussed the news, they said a Mystical prayer for the success of every space mission.