Russia’s Luna-25 Lunar Lander Arrives At Vostochny Spaceport

Russia is approaching the launch of its Luna-25 mission to the Moon—the country’s first lunar exploration effort in almost 50 years. 

The long-delayed 3,860-lb. spacecraft was finally delivered on July 11 to Vostochny spaceport in the country’s Far East, according to Roscosmos Space Corp. Before traveling there, it completed acceptance and predelivery tests. At the spaceport, the lander will undergo final preflight and ground checks and be mated with a Fregat booster before lifting off atop the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle on Aug 11. 

The Luna-25 lander was designed by Roscosmos’ subsidiary NPO Lavochkin to make a soft descent to the Moon’s south pole, north of Boguslavsky crater, and explore the region for water ice.

Russia will be competing with India to obtain samples of water ice on the Moon, Russian space expert Vitaly Yegorov said. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to launch its Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon to explore lunar soil and rocks one month earlier–on July 14. 

But the Russian spacecraft has a chance to reach the Moon’s surface before the Indian spacecraft, which will travel along a longer trajectory and is expected to land on Aug. 23 or 24. 

Luna-25 is expected to be followed by at least two other Russian missions to the Moon: the Luna-26 orbiter and the heavier Luna-27 lander.