Russia to Launch First Moon Lander since 1976

On Monday, Russia declared its plan to launch a mission to the moon on Friday after repeated delays, marking the first such mission in about 50 years.

The Russian space agency announced, ahead of the country's first lunar mission since 1976, that "a Soyuz rocket has been assembled to launch the Luna-25 (Lander vehicle)," adding that "the Soyuz launch rocket has been assembled at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Far East to launch Luna-25, which will land near the moon's south pole in a rugged area."

The journey is expected to take between "4 and a half days to 5 and a half days."

In its official statement, the Russian space agency stated that once Luna-25, weighing 800 kilograms, reaches the moon, its mission will involve "collecting and analyzing soil samples and conducting long-term scientific research."

This launch marks the first mission of Russia's new lunar program and comes at a time when Moscow seeks to enhance its space cooperation with Beijing amid tensions on various fronts with Western space powers over the Ukrainian crisis.

The last Soviet space mission was conducted by the Luna-24 spacecraft in 1976.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow has been striving for innovation in space exploration, facing competition not only from government entities but also from private initiatives, such as SpaceX by billionaire Elon Musk.