WASHINGTON — Russia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on Thursday (Aug 10), 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.
<img alt="" data-caption="PHOTO: Roscosmos/Handout via Reuters" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="db6e5a4f-5023-4f66-9b36-86ce5b933a74" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/0811_space_1.jpeg" />
ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.asiaone.com/world/debris-blast-spacex-rocket-launch-renews-environmental-questions" target="_blank">Debris blast from SpaceX rocket launch renews environmental questions</a>

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 Aug 11, 2023.  

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WASHINGTON — Russia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on Thursday (Aug 10), 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. ALSO READ: Debris blast from SpaceX rocket launch renews...

Russia launches moon lander in race to find water on moon