A Russian spacecraft crashed into the moon over the weekend, days before scientists had planned to land the craft there to test landing technology and search for water. 

The Luna-25 lander was supposed to be the first Russian craft to reach the moon since the 1970s, but Russian scientists lost contact during the mission, and it crashed, according to Roscosmos, Russia’s state space corporation. 

“The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon,” Roscosmos said. 

A commission has been formed to investigate what led to the crash of the Luna-25, which is just the latest Russian space mission to go awry. The last Russian moon exploration took place in 1976 when Luna-24 was launched. 

Russia’s space corporation had hoped that Luna-25 would prove the country was “capable of delivering a payload to the moon” and “ensure Russia’s guaranteed access to the moon’s surface.”

Luna-25 was supposed to land on the moon’s south pole, where no other spacecraft has ever made a landing. Some say the area may be home to precious elements and frozen water. 

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“The first goal is to find the water, to confirm that it is there … to study its abundance,” said Olga Zakutnyaya, who works at Moscow’s Space Research Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, earlier this month. 

Russia has faced technological and financial challenges in recent years, problems that have only been exacerbated by the cost of its war with Ukraine and the massive economic sanctions placed on it by Western countries over the invasion. 

“It is so sad that it was not possible to land the apparatus,” said Mikhail Marov, a 90-year-old physicist and astronomer who worked in the Soviet space program decades ago. “This was perhaps the last hope for me to see a revival of our lunar program.”

Russia may work with China on future space missions, with plans for Lunar-26, Lunar-27, and Lunar-28.

An Indian spacecraft, the Chandrayaan-3, will attempt to land on the moon on August 23, a mission the Russians were competing against. India would be the fourth country to have a craft land on the moon, following the U.S., the Soviet Union, and China. A previous spacecraft from India crashed into the moon in 2019.

Every Sunday morning, legacy media outlets are taken over by elected officials, aspiring elected officials, administration insiders, and the usual collection of talking heads — all of whom are there to discuss specific policies, push talking points, or simply promote their own campaigns.

For those who don’t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to unravel a full week’s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what they may have missed.

ABC News, “This Week”:

ABC News political director Rick Klein weighed in on the possibility — which was confirmed later in the day — that President Donald Trump might skip the Republican primary debates during Sunday morning’s broadcast of “This Week.”

While a number of both critics and supporters have suggested that Trump should go just to make sure the voters get a chance to see all of the candidates in the same forum, Klein argued that “there is a risk in him not actually being there.”

Klein explained that by simply not showing up, Trump would allow the other candidates a forum in which they could freely present their points and policies with no fear of him interrupting or “having to worry about the direct rebuttal where he always dominates.”

“There is a risk in him not actually being there.”

If former Pres. Trump skips the first GOP primary debate, @RickKlein says the other candidates can “strut their stuff without having to worry about the direct rebuttal where he always dominates.” https://t.co/5FDqgcz3r4 pic.twitter.com/X1AFRVaQwY

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 20, 2023

Former DNC chair Donna Brazile went on to suggest that the RNC should consider establishing new guidelines if Trump skipped the early debates and then attempted to simply show up later. “I would be reluctant to allow Donald Trump to pick and choose which debate he would show up in the future.”

Former DNC chair @DonnaBrazile encourages RNC to establish "firm guidelines" on participation if former Pres. Trump skips initial debates.

“I would be reluctant to allow Donald Trump to pick and choose which debate he would show up in the future." https://t.co/JkpxKQYlfg pic.twitter.com/F4smUc8R1r

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 20, 2023

CBS News, “Face the Nation”:

Governor Josh Greene (D-HI) joined CBS’ “Face the Nation” to give a heartbreaking update on the tragedy that was still unfolding on the island of Maui in the wake of the devastating wildfires.

Greene confirmed the terrible news that in addition to the 114 who had been killed, there were more than 1000 people who could still be missing as search and clean-up efforts continued — and even more tragic, that many of those who had died could have been children.

It’s “possible” that a large number of those who died in the Maui wildfire were children, @GovJoshGreenMD tells @margbrennan pic.twitter.com/qqW4k8t5YT

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 20, 2023

CNN, “State of the Union”:

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) joined CNN’s “State of the Union” and guest host Kasie Hunt to discuss the ongoing Republican primary and the current front-runner, former President Trump.

Cassidy said he did not think it was likely Americans would vote for a candidate who had been convicted — but also said that he would vote for Trump if he were the eventual Republican nominee. That said, Cassidy also said he did not believe Trump was likely to beat Biden in a rematch of the 2020 election.

“He will lose to Joe Biden, if you look at the current polls. I’m a Republican. I think any Republican on that stage in Milwaukee will do a better job than Joe Biden,” he continued. “And so I want one of them to win. If former President Trump ends up getting the nomination, but cannot win a general, that means we will have four more years of policies which have led to very high inflation, to a loss of purchasing power for the average American equivalent to $10,000, and to many other things which I think have been deleterious to our country’s future,” Cassidy said.

.@BillCassidy tells @kasie that he doesn’t think Americans will vote for a candidate who has been convicted of a crime. #CNNSOTU https://t.co/W7baWPMIlU

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) August 20, 2023

NBC News, “Meet the Press”:

Politico’s Jonathan Martin joined NBC’s “Meet the Press” — and he pointed out several key weaknesses that could create problems in President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign. Martin said that it was becoming clear that Biden just “hasn’t figured out what to say” when it comes to three specific issues: any questions relating to his embattled son, Hunter Biden; questions about his DOJ’s involvement in investigations into former President Trump; questions about his age.

“Those are three massive issues that are clouding his re-election campaign,” he said.

WATCH: @jmart tells the #MTP panel that Pres. Biden has three issues where he "hasn't figured out what to say."

➡️ Questions about Hunter Biden
➡️ Investigations into former President Trump
➡️ His age

"Those are three massive issues that are clouding his re-election campaig… pic.twitter.com/kEsGMv6uDn

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 20, 2023

FOX, “Fox News Sunday”:

Governor Kim Reynolds (R-IA) spoke with “Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream about the Iowa State Fair – and her “Fair-Side Chats” with a number of the GOP presidential hopefuls.

Reynolds went on to say that she didn’t expect the voters to give Trump “a pass” if he sat out the primary debates. “I think they still, they expect him to be here, they want to interact, they want to interact with all of the candidates,” Reynolds told Bream. “We had great turnout at the Fair Side Chats. I had a lot of Iowans, and people outside of the state, come up and just say, ‘thank you for doing that, it was a great opportunity to hear from the candidates.’ And so, Iowans take it very seriously, they’re very knowledgable and they want to interact with the candidates.”

WATCH: Iowa Governor @KimReynoldsIA joins to talk about her 'Fair-Side Chats' with 2024 presidential candidates, as GOP hopefuls meet voters at the Iowa State Fair. pic.twitter.com/qdDLF0QahX

— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) August 20, 2023

MSNBC, “Inside With Jen Psaki”:

MSNBC host and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki spoke with attorney Neal Katyal about the case against former President Trump — particularly the latest set of indictments and the 18 co-defendants who had also been slapped with RICO charges in Fulton County, Georgia.

Katyal said that the real concern for Trump should be what those defendants were likely hearing from their lawyers since the indictments were announced: “Think seriously about flipping and providing evidence.”

"Think seriously about flipping and providing evidence…"@neal_katyal on what lawyers are likely advising Trump's 18 co-defendants right now. pic.twitter.com/cBD3eKfs14

— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) August 20, 2023