Russian consultants monitoring their moon-bound unmanned spacecraft Luna-25 have switched on its scientific tools and began processing the primary information.

Russia is aiming to turn into the primary nation to hold out a gentle touchdown on the lunar south pole - a area thought to carry pockets of water ice.

Space company Roscosmos mentioned in a press release on Sunday: "Luna-25 continues its flight to the Earth's natural satellite - all systems of the automatic station are working properly, communication with it is stable, the energy balance is positive.

"The first measurement information on the flight to the moon has been obtained, and the venture's scientific crew has begunprocessing it."

On Friday, Moscow launched the mission - its first moon-landing craft in 47 years - and is racing towards India which blasted its lunar lander Chandrayaan-3 into house final month.

Luna-25, which is the dimensions of a small automobile, took off on board a Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny cosmodrome within the far japanese Amur area, over 3,000 miles east of Moscow.

It is predicted to the touch down on the moon on 21 August.

Its mission is to gather samples of rock and mud to get an understanding of the setting for a possible base.

The lander plans to function for a yr on the south pole, the place scientists at NASA and different house companies have in recent times detected traces of water ice within the area's shadowed craters.

Rough terrain makes a touchdown there troublesome.

But the prize of discovering water ice might be historic - as it might be used for gasoline and oxygen, in addition to for ingesting water.

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US astronaut Neil Armstrong discovered fame in 1969 for being the primary particular person to stroll on the moon.

But the Soviet Union's Luna-2 mission was the primary spacecraft to succeed in the planet's floor in 1959, and the Luna-9 mission in 1966 was the primary to make a gentle touchdown there.

Friday's launch marks Russia's first lunar mission since 1976, when it was a part of the USSR.

Content Source: information.sky.com