Russia Appears to Admit Moon Probe Failed as It Couldn't Replace US Tech

Russia's Luna-25 mission failed due to a malfunction in the probe's control unit, the country's space agency, Roscosmos, said on Tuesday.

The unmanned spacecraft Luna-25, which was expected to land on the South Pole of the moon on August 21, spun out of control and crashed into the moon's surface on August 19. The expedition was Moscow's first since 1976, before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Russia has struggled to replace some of the sophisticated technology it imported from the West, such as microchips and semiconductors, since it was hit with unprecedented sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine.

However, a source, who has knowledge of Russia's military tech import networks and who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, told Newsweek that the probe's failure stemmed directly from corruption in government agencies.

"The most probable cause of the accident was the abnormal functioning of the onboard control system," Roscosmos said, adding that a malfunction with Luna-25's BIUS-L angular velocity measuring unit meant its propulsion system could not be switched off.

The spacecraft's propulsion system blasted for 127 seconds instead of the planned 84 as it advanced toward the lunar surface, said Roscosmos.

"As a result, the station moved into an off-target open orbit and collided with the lunar surface," the space agency said. Roscosmos added that it had formulated "recommendations and additional measures" for future missions to the moon.

The space agency's admission that there was a malfunction with the BIUS-L unit comes after the chief engineer of the device said Western-imposed sanctions meant Moscow had to produce the BIUS-L domestically, which made it seven times heavier than usual during development.

The development team had to proceed with "import substitution" and create the necessary part domestically, said the chief designer of the device, Alexey Kazakov, in an interview with Russian news outlet Gazeta in May 2021.

"Our device...is entirely built on domestic components, which plays a role," said Kazakov, when questioned on why the device weighs 10 kilograms [22 pounds], when a previous version weighed 1.5 kilograms.

Roscosmos did not elaborate on Tuesday on what had caused the malfunction of the BIUS-L unit, but its admission suggests sanctions played a role.

The industry source offered a different take on the mission.

Newsweek's source said Russia at the time had "sufficient loopholes" to dodge Western sanctions and procure the critical technology for this mission from the U.S. and allies, but preference was given to corrupt schemes involving known suppliers or partners.

"The entire procurement program [for Western-made parts via proxies] was put on hold, and instead they tried to purchase from [American superconductor manufacturers] Aeroflex and Actel directly.

"Naturally, due to sanctions, they couldn't complete those purchases, and so simply decided to fill the probe's equipment with domestic alternatives. That entailed a complete overhaul of the circuitry, since the domestically-produced elements had weight and size ratios that far exceed their Western counterparts.

"In short, instead of American integrated circuits [known as FPGAs], they installed the produce of the 'famous' Voronezh-based manufacturer, the VZPP-S. And last month, we saw how that creation completed its arduous journey to the moon."

Newsweek has contacted Roscosmos for comment via email.

According to NASA, the Luna-25 mission had two primary scientific objectives: to study composition of the polar regolith and to study the plasma and dust components of the lunar polar exosphere. It was expected to operate on the lunar surface, studying surface regolith and exospheric dust and particles, for one year.

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Update 10/04/23 at 9:45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with quotes from a source who has knowledge of Russia's military's technology import networks.