MOSCOW. Aug 3 (Interfax) - Specialists from the Lavochkin Research and Production Association (NPO Lavochkin) have begun installing scientific instruments on the Luna-25 spacecraft, the state corporation Roscosmos said.
"The flight models of the Russian scientific instruments were delivered to (Roscosmos's) NPO Lavochkin's Space Research Institute in July 2020. Russian space rocket specialists are now installing them on board the Luna-25 spacecraft," Roscosmos said.
The instruments include eight Russian ones and one designed by the European Space Agency, Roscosmos said.
"The Russian instruments are intended for studying the composition, structure, and the physical and mechanical properties of the lunar polar regolith, the dust and plasma exosphere around the lunar south pole," Roscosmos said.
Luna-25 (Luna-Glob before April 2013) is a descent vehicle part of Russia's lunar exploration program, the first Russian lunar mission carried out by NPO Lavochkin for the exploration and practical use of the Moon and the space around it using automatic interplanetary stations. As part of the lunar mission, a descent vehicle is the first to be launched, and an orbiter is to be blasted off in a year.
The vehicle's lift-off is scheduled for October of next year. The vehicle will carry out remote research and choose suitable sites for subsequent landers, explore the surface near the southern pole, including using cryogenic drilling as deep as two meters. The probe is expected to remain active on the surface of the Moon for at least one terrestrial year.