Russia has returned to the moon with a crash. Luna-25's one-year mission to collect samples on the moon and study the lunar polar sphere ended on approach. Roscosmos is not disclosing the "unspecified incident" that led to the loss of their bulbous space lander.
Better luck with Luna-26, tovarisch!
Communication with Luna-25 was lost at 2:57 pm (1157 GMT) on Saturday, Roscosmos said.
According to preliminary findings, the lander "has ceased to exist following a collision with the Moon's surface".
"Measures taken on August 19 and 20 to locate the craft and make contact with it were unsuccessful," the space agency added.
It said a ministerial investigation would be opened into the causes of the crash, without giving any indication of what technical problems might have occurred.
