Russia’s long-awaited return to the moon may have hit a snag. The Luna-25 spacecraft, Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years, encountered an unexpected issue during its engine burn as it was preparing to enter its final pre-landing orbit around the moon on Aug. 19. The anticipated landing is set for Aug. 21.

Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, highlighted in a recent update that the spacecraft experienced an “emergency situation” during the operation. Due to this, the intended maneuver could not be executed as planned. The team at Roscosmos is now closely analyzing the situation to determine the next steps.

As expected, the lack of concrete information has sparked a flurry of speculation online. The Russian online community is rife with rumors and theories, with many suggesting that Luna-25 may be lost. Anatoly Zak, a respected voice from RussianSpaceWeb.com, pointed out on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the straightforwardness of Roscosmos in reporting the issue could indicate the severity of the problem, considering they typically remain tight-lipped about non-critical matters.

The Luna-25 mission carries significant historical and scientific weight for Russia. Launched on Aug. 10 and entering lunar orbit by Aug. 16, it marks the country’s first moon mission since the Luna-24 in 1976 during the Soviet era. The spacecraft’s intended landing spot is near the moon’s unexplored south pole. If you want you can also read – Chandrayaan 3: India’s Historic Moon Mission Continues to Deliver Amazing Results 

With eight scientific instruments on board, Luna-25 is not just a symbolic mission. If it overcomes its current challenges, the lander aims to search for water ice and delve deep into various scientific explorations of the moon’s intriguing south polar region. It’s a region that, up to now, hasn’t seen any lander or rover activity. Everyone’s hopeful for a positive outcome.