Russia to evacuate village for first lunar lander mission in half century

FILE PHOTO: General view of the launch pad after a Russian Soyuz 2.1a rocket carrying Lomonosov, Aist-2D and SamSat-218 satellites took off at the new Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Uglegorsk, about 200 kms from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool/File Photo

(Reuters) - Russia will evacuate a village in its far east on Aug. 11 as part of the launch of Russia's first lunar lander mission in nearly half a century, a local official said on Monday.

The Luna-25 lunar lander, Russia's first since 1976, will be launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, some 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow, according to Russia's Roscosmos space agency.