Russia just launched its first mission to the moon in close to 50 years, firing up a new mini space race this August amid broad and growing international competition.
The Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991, was the first nation to land a robotic spacecraft on the moon and sent many afterward. But the launch Friday from Kazakhstan is the first lunar voyage for Russia in the post-Soviet era. It makes a bold geopolitical statement: Though the mission was originally intended as a partnership, the European Space Agency backed out following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, has pushed ahead with a go-it-alone approach.
