First up, from the New York Post, August 20:
Russia’s first lunar mission in 47 years smashes into the moon in failure
Russia’s first moon mission in 47 years failed when its Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the moon after a problem preparing for pre-landing orbit, underscoring the post-Soviet decline of a once mighty space program.
Russia’s state space corporation, Roskosmos, said it had lost contact with the craft at 11:57 GMT on Saturday after a problem as the craft was shunted into pre-landing orbit.
A soft landing had been planned for Monday.
“The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon,” Roskosmos said in a statement....
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And from Space.com August 18:
India's Chandrayaan-3 moon lander successfully separates, prepares for Aug. 23 touchdown
India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander is flying on its own ahead of a historic landing attempt.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said Thursday (Aug. 17) its Chandrayaan-3 moon lander is now flying on its own after separating from the propulsion module that brought it to lunar realms.
"Thanks for the ride, mate," ISRO officials tweeted from the mission's account, as the agency announced the successful deployment ahead of the expected moon-landing attempt on Aug. 23....
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(Image credit: ISRO)
