Lunar Dreams Dashed

Russia's Luna-25 lunar probe reportedly crashed while trying to land on the moon's south pole over the weekend, cutting short the country's first mission to the moon in almost five decades. The uncrewed spacecraft was said to have unspecified issues while entering the lunar orbit.

The lunar south pole has long attracted the attention of scientists due to the presence of frozen water but has yet to be explored by an on-the-ground rover. Because the moon has a tidal lock—meaning it's effectively stuck in place as it orbits the Earth—almost all scientific studies of the south pole come from observations from orbiting spacecraft.

India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is the next to make an arrival, with a landing attempt scheduled for this week.