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Space
Space
Science
Elizabeth Howell

Russia's Luna-25 moon lander prepares for historic touchdown

The first detailed photo of the moon's surface taken by Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft. The image, which the nation's space agency Roscosmos released on Aug. 17, 2023, was taken from orbit and shows a landscape on the moon's far side, near the south pole.

Russia is readying for its first landing on the moon in nearly 50 years.

The Luna-25 lander is scheduled to touch down as soon as Sunday (Aug. 21) on a patch of the moon's south pole in a spot that is likely filled with water ice. The exact timing of landing has not yet been released. Should it make it down safely, the mission is expected to look for ice and do other science for roughly one Earth year. 

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