The Luna-25 lunar module also known as Luna-Glob, the first Russian probe designed for lunar landing in nearly 50 years, crashed into the Moon Sunday while attempting to accomplish its mission to land at the satellite’s South Pole, the Russian space agency Roscosmos has reported.

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Luna-25, which has no return capsule, is attempting to become the first station in history to land on the Moon’s south pole. The main tasks of the mission are to test technologies for a soft landing, study the internal structure and explore resources, including water.

The Russian interplanetary station "Luna-25" collided with the Moon and ceased to exist. It was Russia's first flight to the moon. pic.twitter.com/RmIf1eGCwb

— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) August 20, 2023

Russia launched the spacecraft last week in a race with the U.S. agency, NASA, and other space agencies, and the lunar landing was originally scheduled for this coming Sunday, although it is not known if the plan is still on track.

The lunar south pole is a coveted target among spacefaring nations, the U.S. and China among them. In fact, the Indian Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is orbiting the Moon and will likely attempt the lunar landing near the pole this week.

-Thailand News (TN)