A leading physicist and astronomer who served as a key consultant in Vladimir Putin’s moon mission was hospitalised in Moscow after Russia’s first lunar expedition in 47 years failed. Mikhail Marov, 90, was rushed to hospital following a “sharp deterioration” in his health after Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the moon. "It is so sad that it was not possible to land the apparatus," he said after the failure of Luna-25 was announced. Russia’s state space corporation Roskosmos said it lost contact with the craft at 11.57am (GMT) on Saturday after a problem as the craft was shunted into pre-landing orbit. A soft landing had been planned for Monday. "The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon," Roskosmos said in a statement. It said a special inter-departmental commission had been formed to investigate the reasons behind the loss of the Luna-25 craft, whose mission had raised hopes in Moscow that Russia was returning to the big power moon race. Mr Marov told the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper that he hoped the reasons behind the crash would be discussed and examined rigorously. "This was perhaps the last hope for me to see a revival of our lunar programme," he said, according to Reuters. “There was a mistake in the algorithms for launching into near-lunar orbit,’ he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. “It must be found.” “For the specialists who will be involved in the work of the commission, this will not be a big problem. I think the answer will be found in the foreseeable future.” Sharing details on his medical condition, he told the outlet that he is currently “under observation” as he shared his exasperation over the failure of the mission. “How can I not worry? This has been very much a matter of my life. It’s all very hard.” The failure of Luna-25 underscored the decline of Russia’s space power since the glory days of Cold War competition when Moscow was the first to launch a satellite to orbit the Earth – Sputnik 1, in 1957 – and Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel into space in 1961. It also comes as Russia’s $2 trillion economy faces its biggest external challenge for decades: the pressure of both Western sanctions and fighting the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two. Though moon missions are fiendishly difficult, and many US and Soviet attempts have failed, Russia had not attempted a moon mission since Luna-24 in 1976, when Communist leader Leonid Brezhnev ruled the Kremlin. Russia has been racing against India, whose Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is scheduled to land on the moon’s south pole this week, and more broadly against China and the United States which both have advanced lunar ambitions. Russian officials had hoped that the Luna-25 mission would show Russia can compete with the superpowers in space despite its post-Soviet decline and the vast cost of the Ukraine war. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashes into moon in failed mission The Russian space agency says its Luna-25 spacecraft has crashed into the moon. Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft suffers technical glitch in pre-landing maneuver The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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Welsh hopes of qualifying automatically for Euro 2024 were dented by a 1-1 draw in Armenia. Lucas Zelarayan came back to haunt Wales again with a fifth-minute opener before a Nair Tiknizyan own goal in first-half stoppage time restored parity. The draw helps neither side as far as joining already-qualified Turkey in the top two is concerned. Even beating Turkey in Cardiff on Tuesday would not be enough for Wales should Croatia win their final two fixtures. If Croatia win those games, then Wales will be involved in the March play-offs. Armenia’s chances of a top-two place are almost certainly over, barring a Croatia collapse. Wales had a score to settle with Armenia after their humiliating 4-2 defeat in Cardiff five months ago, a result which left them playing catch-up in the race for next summer’s tournament in Germany. Rob Page’s side also had to turn the tide of history as Wales had never beaten Armenia in three previous meetings. Wales were unchanged from the side that produced last month’s stunning 2-1 win over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia. Brennan Johnson missed that game through injury and the Tottenham forward, fresh from his first Spurs goal, had to make do with a place on the bench. Armenia – ranked 95 in the world and 67 places below Wales – showed nine survivors from the team who had won in Cardiff in June, including Grant-Leon Ranos and Zelarayan who both scored twice then. Wales were behind inside five minutes after failing to deal with a corner. Danny Ward hesitated before Joe Rodon’s poor header looped towards Zelarayan, who shifted the ball onto his right foot and found the bottom corner with unerring accuracy. David Brooks fired over in reply and Neco Williams saw his effort deflected wide after Kieffer Moore had pounced on a home mistake. Moore headed wide but Wales were generally unable to sustain attacks, with Armenia dangerous on the counter. Vahan Bichakhchyan drove inches wide from one such raid, and Wales suffered another blow as Chris Mepham’s challenge on Zelarayan earned him a yellow card to rule him out of the Turkey game. Wales went close after 37 minutes when Williams pulled the ball back into Harry Wilson’s path and goalkeeper Ognjen Cancarevic was at full stretch to save. Then, just seconds from the interval, Connor Roberts sent over a long throw and Tiknizyan, under pressure from Rodon, headed into his own net. Johnson replaced Brooks within three minutes of the restart and the contest was developing a spicy edge, with Varazdat Haroyan cautioned for chopping down Wilson and Ethan Ampadu similarly punished for his reaction to the challenge. Armenia went mightily close as Bichakhchyan’s chip drifted over the head of Ward and onto the crossbar. The crowd held its breath as Zelarayan seemed certain to bury the rebound but instead, the game’s best player sliced it over. Armenia were slowly turning the screw, though Cancarevic was tested from outside the box by Jordan James and needed a second attempt to gather. Eduard Spertsyan had a clear sight of goal before being denied by one of an increasing number of last-gasp Welsh blocks. Moore’s header was held by Cancarevic and in a frantic finale, Ward produced a flying stop to deny substitute Edgar Sevikyan, who later shot wide with the goal at his mercy. Read More What do Wales need to qualify for Euro 2024? Armenia v Wales LIVE: Result and reaction from crucial Euro 2024 qualifier Injured Aaron Ramsey serving as Wales’s lucky mascot in Armenia Rob Page keen to focus on football after clearing air with FAW chief Noel Mooney Steve Clarke wants return to winning ways – Scotland v Norway talking points Khiara Keating surprised by her rise into Man City’s starting line-up this term

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