Russian scientist who worked on moon mission hospitalised hours after crash

'This was perhaps the last hope for me to see a revival of our lunar programme', the 90-year-old scientist was reported saying.

One of Russia's top physicists and astronomers who worked on the Luna-25 Moon mission had to be hospitalised in Moscow after the nation's first lunar expedition in 47 years ended in failure.

Mikhail Marov, 90, who was a key consultant in the project was rushed after a 'sharp deterioration' in his health, Independent reported.

After the Moon mission crash was announced Marov said "It is so sad that it was not possible to land the apparatus."

Speaking to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper Marov said that he hoped that there would be a thorough discussion on and examination of the reasons behind the crash.

"This was perhaps the last hope for me to see a revival of our lunar programme", Reuters reported him saying.

Meanwhile, Daily Mail reported the scientist saying "There was a mistake in the algorithms for launching into near-lunar orbit", adding that it must be found.

Marov also shared updates on his medical condition while expressing exasperation with the failure of Russia's latest mission.

Noting he was "under observation", the scientist blasted "How can I not worry? This has been very much a matter of my life. It’s all very hard."

Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, said that Luna-25 had been shunted into the pre-landing orbit after a problem with the craft, while a soft landing had been planned for Monday. An inter-departmental commission has been set up to probe the reasons behind the loss of the craft.

Russia's mission, if successful, would have signalled their return to the moon race. Their last moon mission was Luna-24 in 1976 when Leonid Brezhnev was seated in Kremlin.

Even as India is poised to attempt a moon landing tomorrow with Chandrayaan-3, Russia's failure comes at a time when the country's economy faces tough challenges due to the weight of Western sanctions and its ongoing 'military operations' in Ukraine.