The first lunar exploration apparatus in Russian history to be launched in 2021

Currently, Russian engineers are developing several missions to explore the Moon, collect soil and

returning its samples to Earth. The preparatory stage will be the launch of the Luna-25 rover, which will have to land on the south pole of the satellite.

Initially, the launch of the Russian probe was supposed in 2014, but its launch had to be postponed. The last Soviet Luna-24 station was launched back in 1976 - 44 years ago.

“The name of our device is «Luna—25» continues the numbering of domestic lunar missions of the last century"

Igor Mitrofanov

Now Roskosmos is considering two places on the moon for the landing of the device - the main and reserve. The first point is located in the vicinity of the Boguslavsky crater, the second - in the southwest of the Manzini crater.

It is planned that the device will sit either in one ofof these points, or within 15-30 km from them. On the surface of the moon, the landing station will have to collect samples of the polar lunar soil, and then study their properties and composition. Roskosmos notes that before that not a single device had landed in the polar regions of the moon.

Previously, engineers from the Space Research Institute (IKI) RAShave createdand carried out all the necessary tests of the flight model of the manipulator, which will be on the Luna-25 lunar landing station.