NASAsaid Friday it had captured images of the likely crash site of Russias first post-Soviet lunar lander.The Luna-25 probe slammedinto the Moons surface on Aug.
19 during pre-landing maneuvers, according to Russias space agency Roscosmos.NASA said its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) photographed the impact crater on the Moons south pole where Roscosmos believes Luna-25 crashed.Close-range images of the same spot dated June 27 and Aug.
24 showed a distinct crater forming on the Moons surface.Since this new crater is close to the Luna 25 estimated impact point, the LRO team concludes it is likely to be from that mission, rather than a natural impactor, NASA said.The Luna-25 mission was meant to mark Moscow's return to independent Moon exploration in the face of financial troubles and corruption scandals, and growing isolation from the West.It last landed a probe on the Moon in 1976, before shifting away from lunar exploration in favor of missions to Venus and building the Mir space station.Luna-25s launch was postponed several times in the last five years due to sanctions over Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Days after the crash, India became thefirst nation to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moons south pole.The Kremlin and Roscosmos have vowed to continue pursuing the Moon race despite Luna-25s demise.