Malfunction during engine shutdown main cause of Luna 25 crash - Roscosmos head

MOSCOW. Aug 21 (Interfax) - The main cause of the Luna 25 lander's crash was a malfunction during engine shutdown, Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said.

"Before adjustment, the spacecraft carried out a reorientation and the engines that were supposed to adjust and take the spacecraft to its pre-landing orbit turned on at 2:10 p.m. Unfortunately, the engine shutdown occurred at the time closing, not in the standard manner as per the cyclogram," Borisov said in an interview with Rossiya-24 (VGTRK) television.

"Instead of the planned 84 seconds, it worked for 127 seconds. This was the main cause of the lander's crash," Borisov said.