Crashed Russian mission left a crater on the moon, NASA images show

A NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) image taken June 27, 2020 shows the surface of the moon, in this screengrab obtained from a GIF image released August 31, 2023. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's failed Luna-25 mission left a 10-metre wide crater on the moon when it crashed last month after a problem preparing for a soft landing on the south pole, according to images released by NASA.

Luna-25, Russia's first moon mission in 47 years, failed on Aug. 19 when it spun out of control and crashed into the moon, underscoring the post-Soviet decline of a once mighty space programme.