Luna 25

Key facts

Mission & specifications

Mission

Luna 25 was meant to be a homecoming: Russia's return to the surface of the Moon after nearly half a century, the first lunar lander the country had launched since the Soviet Luna 24 in 1976. It carried the hope of reviving a proud lineage that had won many firsts in the early Space Age, and it aimed for the scientifically prized south-polar region, where water ice may lie hidden in the cold and dark. Launched in August 2023, Luna 25 reached the Moon and entered lunar orbit as planned. But on 19 August, as it manoeuvred toward its pre-landing orbit, a thruster burn ran longer than intended. The spacecraft slipped onto the wrong trajectory and struck the lunar surface, ending the mission before the landing it had travelled so far to attempt. The loss was a sober reminder of how unforgiving lunar landing remains — a feat that has defeated well-resourced agencies and newcomers alike, even decades after it was first achieved. A long gap in hands-on experience and the difficulty of the polar approach all weighed against it. Its failure was studied carefully, the lessons folded into the missions that will follow. Luna 25 stands as a marker of both ambition and the genuine hardness of the goal: that returning to the Moon, even now, is never routine.

1. 2023Russia's return to the MoonLaunch

   The first Russian lunar lander since 1976 launches toward the south pole.

2. 2023Into lunar orbitArrival

   Luna 25 reaches the Moon and prepares for its descent.

3. 2023Lost during descentMission end

   A thruster burn runs long; the spacecraft leaves its orbit and strikes the surface.

Images

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