Yuri Borisov, the head of Roskosmos, met with Luna-25 program developers at the NPO Lavochkin on August 25. The visit focused on the recent mission’s results and the road map for Russia’s lunar program. The state agency’s press service confirmed the meeting and the discussion of possible causes for the Luna-25 outcome as well as future prospects for the nation’s lunar ambitions.
Borisov emphasized that the Luna-25 setback should not derail the broader plan. He urged steady work and underscored the dedication of Russian designers and scientists to carry the lunar project forward. He noted that a new landing mission to the Moon south pole could be pursued as early as 2025 to 2026, signaling a concrete timeline for the next steps in exploration. In later remarks to reporters, Borisov reiterated that lessons from Luna-25 would inform other missions within the program.
During a broadcast on Rossiya-24, Borisov explained that if the first mission encounters difficulties, the entire program must be adjusted so that missing functionality is integrated into the planned sequence of lunar activities. He stressed the need to apply gains from Luna-25 to future missions and to avoid letting a single setback define the overall effort.
Launch planning and acceleration
The Luna-26 mission was originally slated for 2027, with talk in recent days about speeding up the schedule. Borisov remarked that advancing Luna-26 and Luna-27 could help recover lost results from the Luna-25 experience. He warned against halting the lunar program, arguing that pausing now would extend a negative trend that has affected progress for decades. The aim is to master the necessary technologies in a fresh, integrated approach that strengthens Russia’s long-term capabilities in lunar exploration.
In his view, the most costly mistake would be to interrupt the program again. The experience of an extended pause has left a void in capability and know-how, and he framed the path forward as a chance to redeploy and accelerate crucial technology development across the entire lunar program.
Luna-25 crash and recovery of knowledge
Luna-25 marked Russia’s first lunar mission in the modern era. Its predecessor, Luna 24, was launched in 1976 from the Sia Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur region. The mission embarked for the Moon on August 11 with plans for a soft landing on August 21, but contact with the lander was lost on August 19. Investigators determined that the engine did not shut down as planned during the final maneuver, running longer than intended and causing the spacecraft to miss its target and crash on the lunar surface.
Despite the aborted soft landing and the loss of the lander, Borisov highlighted that valuable experience had been gained. He noted that the mission provided practical lessons in airline-style flight to the Moon, precise orbital insertion, and the challenges of landing on the lunar surface. The program contributed to a deeper understanding of how to operate in the lunar environment and how to manage complex systems during critical phases of flight, which will inform future operations and mission planning.
Russia’s lunar research program continues to emphasize that even when a specific objective is not fully achieved, the knowledge gained translates into refined procedures, enhanced hardware readiness, and improved mission design. The focus remains on advancing capabilities for future exploration, including the potential for more robust orbital operations and more reliable lander technologies that can support scientific experiments, soil sampling, and confirmatory analyses at the Moon’s south pole.