Russia has embarked on its first lunar mission in nearly half a century, setting up a space rivalry with India, which is also striving to land a lunar vehicle this month.
The launch of the Luna-25 spacecraft towards the moon on Friday marks Russia's return to lunar exploration since 1976, during its time as part of the Soviet Union. Notably, this mission was carried out without any contribution from the European Space Agency, which severed ties with Russia following its incursion into Ukraine.
The liftoff from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Far East occurred at 2:10 am Moscow time on Friday (23:10 GMT on Thursday), as depicted by live images broadcast by the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
Weighing around 800 kg (1,750 pounds) and sporting four legs, the lander is projected to enter lunar orbit within five days. Subsequently, it will spend a span of three to seven days determining an appropriate landing spot before descending to the lunar south pole region.
"This marks the first instance in history where a lunar landing is planned for the lunar south pole. Until now, all previous landings have been situated in the equatorial zone," noted Alexander Blokhin, a senior Roscosmos official.
The lander is anticipated to touch down on the moon's surface on August 23, coinciding with the landing of an Indian spacecraft launched on July 14.
Both countries' modules are directed towards the lunar south pole, an area where no spacecraft has yet managed a smooth landing. So far, successful moon landings have been achieved by only three governments: the Soviet Union, the United States, and China.
Roscosmos has outlined the mission duration to be one year, during which the module will "collect and analyze soil samples and engage in extensive scientific research" concerning lunar surface materials and the atmosphere.
The Luna-25 automated moon lander, situated atop a Soyuz-2.1b rocket, is being transported to a launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East.
The stated objective is to demonstrate Russia's capability to transport payloads to the moon and to secure reliable access to the lunar surface.