[1/2] A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage and the lunar landing spacecraft Luna-25 blasts off from a launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, in this still image from video taken August 11, 2023.
Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERSWASHINGTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Russia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on Thursday, in a bid to be the first power to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole, a region believed to hold coveted deposits of water ice.
The launch was livestreamed by Russia's space agency.
Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons:
Joey Roulette, Jamie Freed
Organizations:
2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS, Thomson
Locations:
Amur, Russia, Handout, REUTERS WASHINGTON