Russia’s Return to the Moon With Luna-25: High Risk, High Stakes

Russia’s Luna-25 is packed up for shipping to the launch area, the Vostochny cosmodrome.
Image credit: Roscosmos.
Russia is set to reactivate the country’s robotic investigation of the Moon, picking up from its former Soviet Union days of heady and milestone-making lunar exploration. Luna-25, an upcoming Russian lunar lander mission, is reportedly targeted for an August 11 sendoff, departing from the Vostochny cosmodrome atop a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with a Fregat upper stage.