Russia media reports say the Luna 25 (Moon 25) automatic station will be launched in mid-July this year.
TASS, citing the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, says that taking into account the astronomical "window” in 2023, the launch of Luna 25 Moon lander is scheduled for July 13, 2023.
Luna 25 is targeted to the south polar region of the Moon. There are two primary scientific objectives of the mission: to study composition of the polar regolith; and to study the plasma and dust components of the lunar polar exosphere.
Luna 25 (Luna-Glob lander) is a planned lunar lander mission by Roscosmos. It was renamed from Luna-Glob lander to Luna 25 to emphasize the continuity of the Soviet Luna program from the 1970s, though it is still part of what was at one point conceptualized as the Luna-Glob lunar exploration program.
Initial mission plans called for a lander and orbiter, with the latter also deploying impact penetrators. In its current form, Luna 25 is a lander only, with a primary mission of proving out the landing technology. The mission will carry 30 kilograms of scientific instruments, including a robotic arm for soil samples and possible drilling hardware.
