Russia's lunar spacecraft Luna-25 sent back the first picture it captured of the moon's surface after entering the lunar orbit, said the country's state space corporation Roskosmos on Thursday.

In the picture is the south polar crater Zeeman on the far side of the moon, according to Roskosmos.

The crater, invisible from Earth, is "of great interest" to researchers, and the images significantly complement the currently available information about the crater, the Russian agency said, adding that the world's first image of the far side of the moon was captured by the Soviet automatic station Luna-3 in October 1959.

The probe, now orbiting the moon, is in normal operation with a soft landing on the lunar south pole planned for August 21.

Read more: Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft enters lunar orbit: space agency