The Russian instrument PmL ("Lunar Dust Monitoring"), which was planned for use during the domestic mission "Luna-25", may go to the Moon aboard the Chinese spacecraft "Chang'e-7", said Lev Zeleny, scientific director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
According to the scientist, Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration are now coordinating the technical details of sending the Russian instrument to the Moon. PmL was developed specifically for "Luna-25", but Chinese colleagues decided to use the equipment for their mission. The instrument is needed to record dust particles that acquire an electric charge and levitate on the illuminated side of the Moon. Previously, such particles were recorded using optical methods.
The Luna-25 station was launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on August 11, 2023. Before the spacecraft was placed into a pre-landing orbit, communication with it was lost. It later became known that the research equipment collided with the surface of the Moon. Roscosmos noted that this was due to the abnormal operation of the correction engine.
China's lunar mission is scheduled for 2026. It is expected that "Chang'e-7" will help collect information necessary to create a scientific research base on the Moon in the future.
