The Russian space agency Roscosmos has announced that their moon lander, Luna 25, has failed in its mission to make a soft landing at the moon’s south pole.
Luna 25 departed Earth on August 11th, with the intention of the mission’s lander touching down on the moon on August 21st. However, something appears to have gone wrong as the lander was attempting to enter its intended orbit for landing, resulting in the lander crashing onto the moon. Roscosmos stated in a statement following the mission’s failure:
The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon
On August 23rd, the Indian mission Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to make a soft landing on the moon. India also plans to land on the moon’s south pole, which now gives them the opportunity to become the first nation to achieve a soft landing there.
Above is an image of the lunar surface sent back by Luna 25 before it crashed.
