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Mission type | Lunar orbiter |
---|---|
Operator | GSMZ Lavochkin |
COSPAR ID | 1966-027A |
SATCAT no. | 02126 |
Mission duration | 60 days |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | E-6S |
Manufacturer | GSMZ Lavochkin |
Launch mass | 1,583.7 kg [1] |
Dry mass | 540 kg |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 31 March 1966, 10:46:59 UTC [2] |
Rocket | Molniya-M 8K78M |
Launch site | Baikonur, Site 31/6 |
End of mission | |
Last contact | 30 May 1966 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Selenocentric |
Periselene altitude | 2088 km |
Aposelene altitude | 2738 km |
Inclination | 71.9° |
Period | 178.05 minutes |
Lunar orbiter | |
Orbital insertion | 3 April 1966, 18:44 GMT |
Instruments | |
Magnetometer Gamma-ray spectrometer Five gas-discharge counters Two ion traps/charged particle trap Piezoelectric micrometeorite detector Infrared detector Low-energy x-ray photon counters | |
Luna 10 (or Lunik 10) was a 1966 Soviet lunar robotic spacecraft mission in the Luna program. It was the first artificial satellite of the Moon. [3]
Luna 10 conducted extensive research in lunar orbit, gathering important data on the strength of the Moon's magnetic field, [4] its radiation belts, and the nature of lunar rocks (which were found to be comparable to terrestrial basalt rocks), [5] cosmic radiation, and micrometeoroid density. Perhaps its most important finding was the first evidence of mass concentrations (called "mascons") — areas of high density below the mare basins that distort lunar orbital trajectories. [6] [7] Their discovery has usually been credited to the American Lunar Orbiter series.
Part of the E-6S series, Luna 10 was battery powered and had an on-orbit dry mass of 540 kg. Scientific instruments included a gamma-ray spectrometer for energies between 0.3–3 MeV (50–500 pJ), [5] a triaxial magnetometer, a meteorite detector, instruments for solar-plasma studies, and devices for measuring infrared emissions from the Moon and radiation conditions of the lunar environment. Gravitational studies were also conducted.
Luna 10 launched towards the Moon on 31 March 1966 at 10:48 GMT. [8]
After a midcourse correction on 1 April, the spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 3 April 1966 and completed its first orbit 3 hours later (on 4 April Moscow time). [9] A 245-kilogram [8] instrument compartment separated from the main bus, which was in a 350 x 1,000-kilometer orbit inclined at 71.9° to the lunar equator.
Luna 10 operated for 460 lunar orbits and performed 219 active data transmissions before radio signals were discontinued on 30 May 1966. [10]
The spacecraft carried a set of solid-state oscillators that had been programmed to reproduce the notes of "The Internationale", so that it could be broadcast live to the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. [11] During a rehearsal on the night of 3 April, the playback went well, but the following morning, controllers discovered a missing note and played the previous night's tape to the assembled gathering at the Congress — claiming it was a live broadcast from the Moon. [12]
Luna 4, or E-6 No.4, sometimes known in the West as Sputnik 26, was a Soviet spacecraft launched as part of the Luna program to attempt the first soft landing on the Moon. Following a successful launch, the spacecraft failed to perform a course correction and as a result it missed the Moon, remaining instead in Earth orbit.
The Luna programme, occasionally called Lunik by western media, is a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union and later Russia between 1959 and 2023. Fifteen were successful, each designed as either an orbiter or lander, and accomplished many firsts in space exploration. They also performed many experiments, studying the Moon's chemical composition, gravity, temperature, and radiation.
Luna 9 (Луна-9), internal designation Ye-6 No.13, was an uncrewed space mission of the Soviet Union's Luna programme. On 3 February 1966, the Luna 9 spacecraft became the first spacecraft to achieve a survivable landing on a celestial body.
Luna 11 was an uncrewed space mission of the Soviet Union's Luna program. It was also called Lunik 11. Luna 11 was launched towards the Moon from an Earth-orbiting platform and entered lunar orbit on 27 August 1966.
Luna 12 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 12.
Luna 13 was an uncrewed space mission of the Luna program by Soviet Union.
Luna 14 was an uncrewed space mission of the Luna program run by the Soviet Union. It was also called Lunik 14.
Luna 15 was a robotic space mission of the Soviet Luna programme, that crashed into the Moon on 21 July 1969.
Luna 16 was an uncrewed 1970 space mission, part of the Soviet Luna program. It was the first robotic probe to land on the Moon and return a sample of lunar soil to Earth. The 101 grams sample was returned from Mare Fecunditatis. It represented the first successful lunar sample return mission by the Soviet Union and was the third lunar sample return mission overall.
LOK Luna 17 was an uncrewed space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 17. It deployed the first robotic rover onto the surface of the Moon.
Luna 18, part of the Ye-8-5 series, was an uncrewed space mission of the Luna program.
Luna 20 was the second of three successful Soviet lunar sample return missions. It was flown as part of the Luna program as a robotic competitor to the six successful Apollo lunar sample return missions.
Luna 21 was an uncrewed space mission, and its spacecraft, of the Luna program, also called Lunik 21, in 1973. The spacecraft landed on the Moon and deployed the second Soviet lunar rover, Lunokhod 2. The primary objectives of the mission were to collect images of the lunar surface, examine ambient light levels to determine the feasibility of astronomical observations from the Moon, perform laser ranging experiments from Earth, observe solar X-rays, measure local magnetic fields, and study mechanical properties of the lunar surface material.
Luna 22 was an uncrewed space mission, part of the Soviet Luna program, also called Lunik 22.
Luna 23 was an uncrewed space mission of the Luna program developed by the Soviet Union.
Luna 24 was a robotic probe of the Soviet Union's Luna programme. The 24th mission of the Luna series of spacecraft, the mission of the Luna 24 probe was the third Soviet mission to return lunar soil samples from the Moon. The probe landed in Mare Crisium. The mission returned 170.1 g (6.00 oz) of lunar samples to the Earth on 22 August 1976.
Zond 3 was a 1965 space probe which performed a flyby of the Moon's far side, taking a number of quality photographs for its time. It was a member of the Soviet Zond program while also being part of the Mars 3MV project. It was unrelated to Zond spacecraft designed for crewed circumlunar missions. It is believed that Zond 3 was initially designed as a companion spacecraft to Zond 2 to be launched to Mars during the 1964 launch window. The opportunity to launch was missed, and the spacecraft was launched on a Mars-crossing trajectory as a spacecraft test, even though Mars was no longer attainable.
Zond 7, a formal member of the Soviet Zond program and unpiloted version of Soyuz 7K-L1 crewed Moon-flyby spacecraft, the first truly successful test of L1, was launched towards the Moon on a Proton-K D rocket on August 7, 1969, on a mission of further studies of the Moon and circumlunar space, to obtain color photography of Earth and the Moon from varying distances, and to flight test the spacecraft systems. Earth photos were obtained on August 9, 1969. On August 11, 1969, the spacecraft flew past the Moon at a distance of 1984.6 km and conducted two picture taking sessions. On its way back from the Moon the spacecraft tested its radio systems by transmitting recorded voices. Zond 7 carried four turtles, a follow-up to the September 1968 Zond 5 mission which carried two tortoises on a circumlunar lunar mission.
Kosmos 111, E-6S No.204, was the first Soviet attempt to orbit a spacecraft around the Moon. The design was similar to the future successful Luna 10 spacecraft. Kosmos 111 was produced in less than a month, one of two spacecraft developed from the E-6 lander bus in a crash program to upstage America's Lunar Orbiter series and to commemorate the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), held in March 1966.