The mission’s unfortunate end marks a significant setback for Russia. The country now faces fierce competition not only from NASA, China’s CNSA, and Japan’s JAXA but also from private space exploration companies interested in commercial and government-backed lunar missions. Despite this setback, Russia’s space ambitions continue, with numerous future missions planned.

The Russian space agency was collaborating with the European Space Agency (ESA) on the Luna-27 mission, which aimed to explore the moon’s south-polar region and collect surface samples. However, due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the ESA severed ties with Roscosmos and withdrew from the planned lunar missions in April 2022. In addition, Roscosmos had joined forces with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) in late 2021 for future lunar exploration missions, including moon-based observation and long-term unmanned operations with the potential for human presence. However, this partnership has yet to achieve significant success for Russia.

In contrast, China’s Chang’e 5 probe successfully returned lunar samples to Earth three years ago. China is also planning to establish an operational base on the moon using 3D printing technology and aims to send a human to the lunar surface by 2030. All eyes are now on India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, which is currently in lunar orbit and is expected to achieve a soft landing on the moon on August 23.