"The automatic station Luna-25, created at the Lavochkin Science and Production Association (part of state corporation Roscosmos), entered the orbit of an artificial satellite of the Moon," the corporation said in a statement, adding that all its systems "are functioning normally and communication with it is stable."
On August 11, the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket lifted off from Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome and launched into orbit Luna-25, the first Russian lunar mission in almost 50 years and the first one in Russia's independent space history. Its predecessor, Luna-24, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1976.
The new mission is part of the Russian lunar program for the exploration and practical use of the Moon and its orbit to establish a fully automated lunar base. Luna-25 is expected to become the first station to make a soft landing in the lunar South Pole with difficult terrain on August 21.