After more than 40 years since it last carried out a lunar mission, Moscow is ploughing £30 million into building a new spaceship bound for Earth’s satellite.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has instructed his space chiefs to make a first landing on the moon within 15 years.
As part of this drive, Luna-25 (formerly known as Luna-Glob) automated probe will be sent to explore the Moon’s South Pole.
The module will land in the Boguslavsky crater in the south pole and begin drilling.
The last Soviet lunar mission was sent in 1976 when the Luna-24 probe made a soft landing, collecting soil samples before returning to Earth.
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