New Delhi: Russia’s lunar mission ended in failure as its Luna-25 spacecraft lost control and collided with the moon, as per a Reuters report.
The Russian State Space Corporation, Roscosmos, announced the loss of communication with the spacecraft following an issue during the pre-landing orbit on Saturday.
“The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon,” Roscosmos said in a statement, quoted in the Reuters’ report.
Luna-25 was launched on August 11 and was Russia’s first lunar mission in 47 years. Luna-25 took off from the Vostochny launch facility.
The lander was equipped with several cameras to make time-lapse footage of the landing.
The mission’s primary goal was to polish the soft landing technology, look for natural resources, including water, and analyse the effect of space rays on the lunar surface.