India's Chandrayaan-3 and Russia's Luna-25: Race to Moon's south pole heats up
A key factor in the differing arrival times of the two missions is their respective mass and fuel efficiency. Luna-25 has a leaner lift-off mass of only 1,750 kilograms, significantly lighter than Chandrayaan-3's 3,800 kg. This reduced mass allows Luna-25 to accelerate more effectively, according to India's space agency ISRO.