MOSCOW: Hours after the Russian lunar probe 'Luna-25' crashed on the moon, a senior Russian scientist was admitted to a hospital after he fell ill. Scientist Mikhail Marov (90) was rushed to the hospital after his health deteriorated following the failure of the mission. Marov has been a part of Russia's space missions since the days of the Soviet Union.

The scientist told the media that the failure of the lunar mission was so devastating that it took a toll on his health. "I’m under observation. How can I not worry, this is largely a matter of life. It’s all very hard. It’s sad that we didn’t manage to land the device. For me, this was perhaps the last hope to see the revival of our lunar programme," he said.

The Luna-25 mission, which was launched on August 11, was set to be the latest and likely last chapter in Marov’s decades-long career exploring the cosmos. Russia hoped the rover would become the first to reach the moon’s southern polar region. However, during the landing on August 19, the unmanned probe spun out of control and was shunted into pre-landing orbit.