Russia's Luna 25 spacecraft crashes on Moon during landing

Russia's Luna 25 spacecraft has crashed on attempting to land on the lunar surface, announced the Russian space agency on Sunday. After analysis, it was found that a deviation between the actual and calculated parameters of the propulsion manoeuvre made the spacecraft transition into an unintended orbit, resulting in its collision with the lunar surface. 

The Luna-25 probe, Russia's first Moon mission in almost 50 years, has crashed on the Moon after an incident during pre-landing manoeuvres, Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Sunday.

Communication with Luna-25 was lost at  2:57 pm (1157 GMT) on Saturday, Roscosmos said in a statement. According to preliminary findings, the lander "has ceased to exist following a collision with the Moon's surface".

The Luna 25 spacecraft was scheduled to land on the moon on Monday to explore parts of the moon that scientists assume have frozen water and precious elements. Roskosmos, Russia's state space corporation, said it lost contact with the Luna-25 shortly after running into difficulties.

Meanwhile, India's Chandrayaan-3, Vikram Lander is fast approaching the lunar surface, preparing to make a touchdown on August 23. The Vikram Lander is continuously sending images of the moon, and the Earth as it orbits the moon. 

Read: Chandrayaan-3: Vikram Lander one step closer to Moon, completes final deboosting; know next move of ISRO's mission