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Russia just launched its first mission to the moon in close to 50 years, firing up a new mini space race this August amid broad and growing international competition. The Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991, was the first nation to land a robotic spacecraft on the moon and it sent many afterward. But the launch Friday from Kazakhstan is the first lunar mission for Russia in the post-Soviet era. The mission makes a bold geopolitical statement: Though it was originally intended as a partnership, the Europe Space Agency backed out following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Roscosmos, the Russ...

Luna 25 will attempt to land on the Moon the same week as India's Chandrayaan 3 probe.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission's big challenge will be sticking a lunar landing, something the Indian space agency has yet to achieve. The mission follows India's Chandrayaan-2, which ended abruptly when the spacecraft crashed.

Check out these NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images of ispace's crash site on the moon near the Atlas Crater, where the Hakuto-R mission came to an abrupt end in April.

A Japanese company appears to have failed at its attempt to land a robotic spacecraft on the moon on April 25, 2023.