Russia to Launch First Moon Lander Since 1976 in Race With Indian Spacecraft

General view of the launch pad after a Russian Soyuz 2.1a rocket carrying Lomonosov, Aist-2D and SamSat-218 satellites took off at the new Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Uglegorsk, Russia, on April 28, 2016. Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool/Reuters

Russia will launch its first lunar landing spacecraft in 47 years on Aug. 11 in a race with India to the south pole of the moon, a potential source of water to support a future human presence there.

The launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome, 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow, will take place four weeks after India sent up its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander, which is due to touch down at the pole on Aug. 23.