Luna 25’s story is one of ambition thwarted by planetary geopolitics. Yet it fuels ongoing lunar pursuits.
The United States finds itself in the middle of a new space race. This time, that race is multi-sided, with participation from the United States, Russia, and China. Its objective is not only to place men and machines in orbit or on the lunar surface, but to achieve military dominance in space.
While China and the United States are the biggest long-term competitors in this new space race, the Russians have wanted to get a slice of the action, too. Russia’s Luna 25 mission stood as a bold attempt to reclaim the lost Soviet legacy in space as their own. But the Russians, mired in the Ukraine War, are unable to dedicate themselves to the new space race the way that Moscow wants to. Russia’s Luna 25 uncrewed lunar lander was launched in 2023 amid heightened international competition, attempting to achieve the Russian Federation’s first soft landing near the moon’s south pole. Indeed, the south pole was a key target, considering any permanent manned settlement would undoubtedly be placed there.
The Luna 25 Mission’s Fiery End
However, much like Israel’s similarly unsuccessful Beresheet lunar module four years earlier, Luna 25 failed to decelerate and crashed into the moon’s surface, highlighting the technical challenges and geopolitical hurdles of lunar exploration, impacting Roscosmos’ broader ambitions. Though Russia has indicated a desire to send up a replacement lunar lander, the war in Ukraine and accompanying international sanctions have forced the Kremlin to prioritize its resources elsewhere. Instead, Roscosmos is increasingly looking to the Chinese to partner and continue their lunar exploration—and colonization—plans jointly.
The Luna 25 project, originally dubbed Luna-Glob, traced its roots to the late 1990s as part of Russia’s renewed lunar program. It sought to revive the storied Soviet-era Luna series, dormant since the USSR’s Luna 24 sample return in 1976. Developed by NPO Lavochkin under Roscosmos, the mission faced repeated delays from technical issues, budget constraints, and the fallout from the 2011 Phobos-Grunt failure.
Costing around $130 million, Luna 25 was designed to test advanced landing technologies while conducting scientific investigations at the lunar south pole—a region rich in potential water ice resources, hence its top billing status as a potential location for a permanent manned colony. Mission objectives centered on a precise soft-landing north of the Boguslawsky crater. The 1,750-kilogram spacecraft carried a 30-kilogram payload of eight Russian instruments, including the ADRON-LR for neutron and gamma-ray regolith analysis, LASMA-LR laser mass spectrometer for composition studies, and THERMO-L for thermal properties. These tools aimed to probe the lunar exosphere, dust dynamics, and mineralogy, with a planned operational lifespan of at least one year on the surface. International collaborations, such as with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Sweden, were initially planned, but abruptly scrapped following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Luna 25 lifted off successfully on August 10, 2023 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Amur Region aboard a Soyuz-2.1b rocket with a Fregat upper stage. The launch marked Russia’s first lunar endeavor in 47 years and coincided with India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, intensifying the race for the lunar southern pole. After a five-day journey, the probe entered lunar orbit on August 16, capturing images and adjusting its path for a targeted landing on August 21.
However, disaster struck during a critical pre-landing maneuver on August 19; intended to lower the orbit to 18 kilometers, the propulsion fired for 127 seconds instead of the planned 84, propelling the spacecraft into a collision course with the moon. Roscosmos lost contact shortly after, with satellite imagery confirming the crash on August 20. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter later imaged a new 10-meter-wide crater in the Pontécoulant G crater, 400 kilometers from the intended site, verifying the impact.
Investigations revealed the root cause as an abnormal functioning of the onboard control system. Specifically, a Russian accelerometer failed to provide accurate data, preventing the timely shutdown of the engines. A Roscosmos commission pinpointed this glitch, attributing it to potential software or hardware anomalies exacerbated by the mission’s rushed timeline—and the limited access to advanced electronic components due to international sanctions.
Russia Wants to Try Again—but Politics Is Getting in the Way
The failure dealt a blow to Russia’s space prestige—particularly after India’s own Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission went off without a hitch only days later. It exposed vulnerabilities in Roscosmos capabilities, from quality control to international isolation. By 2025, the repercussions persist: Russia has delayed Luna 26, an orbital mission, to 2028, and Luna 27 to 2029-30, citing sanctions. Venus missions have also been postponed until 2036. Despite this, Roscosmos vows to press on, viewing Luna 25 as a learning opportunity amid collaborations like the International Lunar Research Station with China.
Luna 25’s story is one of ambition thwarted by planetary geopolitics. Yet it fuels ongoing lunar pursuits. As NASA’s Artemis and private ventures continue advancing, Russia’s experience reminds observers that space exploration demands resilience. In 2025, with mounting delays, the path forward hinges on overcoming isolation and innovation barriers. And Beijing appears perfectly poised to embrace Moscow as a real partner in joint space exploration and development—a key strategic threat to America’s once-dominant yet now declining position in space.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is a senior national security editor at The National Interest. Recently, Weichert became the host of The National Security Hour on America Outloud News and iHeartRadio, where he discusses national security policy every Wednesday at 8pm Eastern. He is also a contributor at Popular Mechanics and has consulted regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including The Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, The Asia Times, and others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / Mechanik.
