Moon

Anatoly Petrukovich, Director of IKI, discussed the problems of future space exploration at the plenary session 'Next Stop: The Moon and Beyond' on May 8, 2025, during the Global Space Exploration Conference — GLEX-2025, in New Delhi, India.

On April 24, 2025, at the opening of 2025 Space Day of China, the project of the automatic lunar station Chang'E-8 was presented. Its scientific payload includes two instruments to be developed by the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences under the agreements between the Roscosmos State Corporation and the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Using data gathered by Russian LEND neutron telescope onboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, IKI scientists studied water ice distribution within lunar polar craters Cabeus and Galimov.

Participants of the 15th Moscow Solar System Symposium unanimously supported Russian Academy of Sciences' proposal, envisaging sending two twin spacecraft to the North and South lunar poles within Luna-27 project.

From October 21, more than 150 scientists from Russia and other countries presented their talks on the problems of Mercury, Venus, Mars and Moon studies, as well as giant planets and small bodies, extrasolar planets and astrobiology.

Russian neutron telescope LEND aboard LRO mission (NASA) marks its 15th anniversary near the Moon on June 19, 2024. Having orbited the Moon for more than 66 thousand times, it transmitted around 105 terabytes of scientific data and registered around 20 billion lunar neutrons, We publish a new map of water ice distribution in the lunar shallow surface near the South Pole of the Moon.

В соответствии с программой полета автоматической станции «Луна-25», 19 августа была предусмотрена выдача импульса для формирования ее предпосадочной эллиптической орбиты. Около 14:57 по московскому времени связь с автоматической станцией прервалась. Реализованные 19 и 20 августа мероприятия по поиску «Луны-25» и вхождению с ней в связь результатов не дали. По результатам предварительного анализа, в связи с отклонением фактических параметров импульса от расчетных, автоматическая станция перешла на нерасчетную орбиту и прекратила свое существование в результате столкновения с поверхностью Луны. Вопросами выяснения причин потери «Луны-25» займется специально формируемая межведомственная комиссия.

Luna-25 mission, built at Lavochkin Association (part of Roscosmos State Space Corporation), continues its flight along the circular orbit around the Moon. Its scientific instruments were switched on several times in the flight and sent back first data.