As it was preparing to enter into an orbit for its planned lunar landing, the Russian unmanned Luna 25 lander experienced an “emergency situation on board” and its control crew is reviewing the situation to see if the lander can make another attempt, CNN reports.
“During the operation, an emergency situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters,” Roscosmos said in a Telegram post. “The management team is currently analyzing the situation.”
The mission would have been the first Russian craft successfully landing on the Moon since 1976, and it was thought to be a needed publicity boost for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who experienced a faltering invasion in Ukraine and a military coup attempt.