The Luna-25 mission crashed on the surface of the Moon this weekend, ending Russia’s quest to prove it still has what it takes to land on the lunar surface.
The Russian spacecraft headed for the Moon beamed back views of its journey, showing Earth and the Moon as tiny, bright specks amidst the surrounding darkness of the cosmos.
Russia launched its first lunar mission in 47 years while mired in its war against Ukraine. The country is intent on beating India to the moon's south pole in search of life-supporting water.
Russia has successfully launched its Luna-25 mission to the Moon, which will attempt to land on the lunar south pole later this month. If it sticks the landing, Russia will become the first country to pull off a soft landing on the south polar region of the Moon.
After NASA’s Moon-faring, water-hunting probe faced an untimely demise before it was ever able to reach its final destination, mission scientists have officially declared that clogged propellant lines led to the mission’s failure.
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India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission is getting closer to the Moon, gradually reducing its altitude above the celestial body’s cratered surface after entering lunar orbit.
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