Russia’s Luna-25 Spacecraft Destroyed as It Crashes Into Moon
- Crash is new setback for a space program hit by war in Ukraine
- India’s Chandrayaan-3 will be next to attempt polar landing
In this image made from video released by Roscosmos State Space Corporation, the Soyuz-2.1b rocket with the moon lander Luna-25 automatic station takes off from a launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.
Source: Roscosmos State Space Corporation/AP Images
Russia said its robotic spacecraft crashed while attempting to land near the moon’s south pole, failing in a race with India to become the first country to reach the region.
Luna-25 was meant to mark Moscow’s return to the moon nearly half a century after the last Soviet mission. The spacecraft spun into an uncontrolled orbit and “ceased to exist” when it collided with the moon’s surface, Russian space agency Roscosmos said Sunday in a statement, citing preliminary results of investigation.