Luna-25 from Russia reaches Moon Orbit: New Space race to moon

Hey space fans, get ready to blast off with some out-of-this-world news! Moscow's back in the moon game with a bang. They've just sent their Luna-25 lander on a cosmic adventure around the Moon – the first time in nearly 50 years! That's like reviving an epic space tale after a long interstellar nap.

A sleek spaceship called Luna-25 is now cruising around the Moon, orbiting like a cosmic dancer. Moscow's pulling out all the stops to revive their space power, taking a page from the Soviet Union's historic space playbook.

This lunar magic happened Moscow time (0903 GMT), and let's just say, the folks at the Roscosmos space agency are over the moon with joy. This high-tech traveler is equipped with cameras that have already snapped jaw-dropping pics of Earth and the Moon from way up in the cosmos.

Here's the scoop: Luna-25 is chilling 100 kilometers above the Moon's surface, ready to make a grand landing near the Boguslawsky crater on the lunar south pole come Monday. And guess what? Everything's going smoothly, and Luna-25's been chatting away with Earth just fine.

This cosmic hero, weighing about 800 kilograms, hitched a ride on a Soyuz rocket that launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia's Far East. Now, it's got a year-long date with the Moon, and it's not just for sightseeing. Luna-25's got a job to do – collecting samples and studying lunar soil like a true space detective.

But here's the twist: while Moscow's launching moon dreams, things are getting rocky in the space cooperation scene. The West isn't so keen on playing space buddies with Russia due to some tussles on Earth, especially with the Ukraine issue. But hey, that's not stopping Moscow's lunar goals!

So, buckle up, space fans. The moon stage is set, and Moscow's back in the space race, ready to write the next chapter in their cosmic tale. It's like a sci-fi story come to life!