Article Posted on : - Aug 11, 2023

Photo: Roscosmos.

BENGALURU (PTI): ISRO on Friday congratulated Russian space agency Roscosmos for the successful launch of its Moon mission Luna-25, the country's first lunar lander in 47 years.

The Russian mission coincides with India's third lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 as both landers target to land on Moon's surface on August 23.

India and Russia are both aiming to be the first ever country to land on the Moon's south pole.

"Congratulations, Roscosmos on the successful launch of Luna-25. Wonderful to have another meeting point in our space journies. Wishes for (India's) Chandrayaan-3 & (Russia's) Luna-25 missions to achieve their goals," ISRO said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The Russian spacecraft launched early on Friday morning (IST) will take about 5.5 days to travel to the Moon's vicinity. Luna-25 is reportedly expected to first enter an orbit around the Earth before transferring to a lunar orbit and finally descending on the surface of the Moon.

Only three countries have managed successful landings on the Moon: the former Soviet Union, the United States and China.