Luna-25 probe crashes into the Moon

The Luna-25 automatic station has ceased to exist after colliding with the surface of the Moon, the state corporation Roscosmos said.

The failure occurred on 19 August during a manoeuvre to enter the pre-landing orbit: the engine fired abnormally, and the craft moved onto an off-design trajectory. Contact with it was lost.

Luna-25 was launched on 11 August from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. It was Russia's first lunar mission since 1976 and was meant to land near the Moon's south pole.

An interdepartmental commission has been set up to investigate. In a few days India's Chandrayaan-3 is due to attempt a landing near the south pole.