Russian space agency chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 lander’s crash on the moon

By EMMA BURROWS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The head of Russia’s space agency says the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly. He blamed the country’s decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap. The pilotless Luna-25 had been scheduled to land Monday while aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the moon’s south pole. Roscosmos Director General Yury Borisov said Monday that the spacecraft’s engines were turned on over the weekend to put Luna-25 into a “pre-landing orbit” but didn’t shut down properly, plunging the lander onto the moon. He said, “The negative experience of interrupting the lunar program for almost 50 years is the main reason for the failures.”