Russia to launch first lunar mission in nearly 50 years on Friday

Russia will launch its first lunar mission in nearly 50 years on Friday and will attempt to send an unmanned rocket to the moon's south pole.

Moscow is reportedly seeking scientific and political prestige form the mission rather than any material research gains and aims to prove it is able to conduct a lunar mission without the support of the international community.

The goal of the mission is to show that Russia "is a state capable of delivering a payload to the moon," and "ensure Russia’s guaranteed access to the moon’s surface," said Russian space agency Roscocosmos, according to the New York Post.

The Russian Federation has never attempted a lunar mission. The last time a Moscow-centered polity did so was in 1976, when the Soviet Union still existed.

The Luna-25 spacecraft is expected to arrive on Aug. 23. Assuming the schedule holds, it should arrive at the same time as an Indian rocket launched last month. The rocket will reportedly just gather moon rocks and dust.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.