Russian Astronomer Hospitalized After Putin’s Moon Mission Fails

“If they pull it off it will be a massive technological and scientific achievement,” Tim Marshall, an expert on the geopolitics of space, said of the mission before it failed over the weekend.

“For the first time in history the lunar landing will take place on the lunar south pole,” Roscosmos official Alexander Blokhin added before the spacecraft crashed into the Moon’s surface on Saturday. “Until now everyone has been landing in the equatorial zone.”