 The programme is based on plans dating back to 1997.Due to the 1998 Russian financial crisis however, the programme's first mission, the Luna 25 lander, was put on hold, only to be revived a few years later.Initially scheduled for launch in 2012 by a Soyuz-2 rocket, the first mission has been delayed many times, first to 2014, then to 2015 and 2016 and 2018 and 2019.