Luna programme
With Luna Luna 4 to 24 (Russian Луна, Latin for moon) Soviet lunar probes of the second series were known. The probes of the previous series had been designated by Lunik 1 to 3.
Some failed Luna missions were (in the case of reaching the Earth's orbit ) satellite called Sputnik, and received or cosmos deck name. The probes, which did not even reach orbit, received no official name. They therefore carry awarded by international experts designations such as Luna 1964a. Some made for the testing of landing maneuvers space flights were taking place in the Zond program.
Early landings
The aim of the missions Luna 4-9 ( probes of the Series E -6) was a probe soft sell on the lunar surface. Until this was achieved with Luna 9, numerous setbacks had to be accepted.
The first probes of E-6 series ( Sputnik 25 and Luna 1963A ) already started the beginning of 1963, but it was not until the third attempt with Luna 4, launched on 2 April 1963 to leave the Earth's orbit at all. The upper stage released the probe but in a wrong orbit, so that the probe missed the moon at a distance of 8336.2 kilometers. Another four false starts ( Luna 1964a, 1964b Luna, Cosmos 60 and Luna 1965a ) later, Luna 5, launched on May 9, 1965 will be sent on the way to the moon. The probe crashed but after the ground station control of the main engine lost, on 12 May on the Moon from. This was caused by an uncontrollable rotation of the probe. Luna 6 (Start: June 6, 1965) missed the moon at 159,218 km distance, as a course correction in the wrong direction was made. When Luna 7 ( Start: October 4, 1965 ), the attitude control system failed before landing so that the ignition of the engine failed to brake. When Luna 8 (Start: December 3, 1965), the probe came nine seconds after ignition of engine braking to rotate and hit hard on the moon.
Finally, in the Oceanus Procellarum, the first soft landing on the moon in space history: On February 3, In 1966 with the successful landing of Luna 9 ( January 31, 1966 start). The probe measured the radiation at the lunar surface, and sent panoramas of the lunar surface back to Earth. The lander worked until the batteries were exhausted on February 6, 1966. This technical performance also had a political dimension, since the Soviet Union emerged from the race with the United States to the first soft landing on the moon as the winner.
An instrumental improved version of Luna 9 was Luna 13 (E -6M ). This probe landed on December 24, 1966 the moon. The probes Luna 13 4-9 and weighed at the start of each 1446-1620 kg. On the Lander accounted after landing only 90-113 kg. The probes were launched with Molniya rocket.
Early Moon Orbiter
The probes Luna 10, 11, 12 and 14 (series E -6S, E- 6LF and e- 6LS ) were lunar orbiter, who used the bus the rovers of the Series E- 6, but instead of a Landers a section brought with them with instruments. As the lander were battery operated the orbiter, whereby the active time was limited in orbit for a few weeks. These probes were launched with Molniya rocket.
The first launch of an e -6S orbiter took place on March 1, 1966, the upper stage of the rocket failed, however, so that the probe under the code name Kosmos 111 remained in Earth orbit. The second e- 6S - start succeeded a little later and waved Luna 10 was the first spacecraft on April 3, 1966 in a moon orbit a. The experiments on board the exact measurements, the magnetic field of the moon and detected micro- meteorites and particles. From the changes in the railway could be closed on mass concentrations in the lunar crust for the first time. On April 3, 1966 recorded program from Luna 10 was played at the opening of the 23rd Congress of the CPSU: engineers had the probe programmed so that it was happening, the International.
Luna 11 was an orbiter to the improved series E- 6LF and was launched on 24 August 1966. The months since the launch of Luna 10 were used to improve the instrumentation. Luna 11 led with a film camera. The film was developed on board and digitized. However, the experiment was due to problems with the orientation of the camera. The probe transferred data from the lunar orbit until 31 October 1966. Repetition of this mission Luna 12, launched on 22 October 1966, however, was a success.
In 1968 made two more starts with the aim to bring an orbiter ( series E- 6LS ) in lunar orbit. The first launch ( Luna 1968a ) ended with the crash of the launcher in the second on April 7, 1968, however, the probe Luna 14 was successfully achieved lunar orbit. With the probe, among other things, the communication system for the manned Soviet lunar program was tested as well as other scientific experiments carried out.
Return probes
So far, took the Soviet Union, the Molniya rocket with a maximum payload of about 1,600 kg for lunar probes. For the next series, however, the much stronger proton should be used, which could carry about 6000 kg to the moon. The aim of the first missions - consisting of Luna 15, 16, 18, 20, 23 and 24 (series E-8 -5 and E-8 -5M ) - it was to bring back samples of moon rock to Earth. The probes were served along with a landing stage and a back starting stage with a small landing capsule, the moon landing does not occur directly, but the probes should pivot into a lunar orbit initially, which was then changed for a few days so that the next point on the path above the landing area was then lowered from where the probe on the surface and its residual speed should be reduced by a rocket motor on. After landing, finally, a drill should take a soil sample and converted into the return capsule, whereupon the rear start be made directly to the earth and the return capsule, slowed by a parachute, would go down in the Soviet Union. Successful was this plan but only in three cases in which came from each about 5600-5720 kg take-off mass only about 39 kg back to Earth, and from those accounted for only about 100-200 g on the soil samples.
The first feedback probes the Series E- 8-5 should return before the Americans the moon rocks. The first launch to June 14, 1969 ( Luna 1969b ) failed because of the failure of the Proton rocket. The next probe, Luna 15 was indeed started three days before the Apollo 11 mission on July 13, 1969 but suggested during the landing attempt on July 21, 1969, one day after the American moon landing hard on. Three other probes, which were launched in September and October 1969 and in February 1970 ( Cosmos 300, Cosmos 305 and Luna 1970a ), were due to malfunction of the Proton rocket in Earth orbit and did not even reach them. Having now you could not bring first lunar samples to Earth, was left to the next start time and revised the probe. Luna 16 (Start on September 12, 1970) brought back the first Soviet mission moon rocks. Luna 18, launched on September 2, 1971, fell silent when landing and was eventually overturned in inaccessible terrain or damaged on landing. Luna 20 (Start on February 14, 1972) landed about 1800 m away from Luna 18 and won 55 g soil samples, because the drill could penetrate only 15 cm.
To obtain more rock one now developed an improved drill that could drill up to 2 m deep. The so-equipped probes were designated E-8 -5M. Luna 23, launched on 28 October 1974, although landed successfully, but was damaged during the landing of the drill so that no soil samples were obtained. The next start on October 16 ended in 1975 with the crash of the launcher ( Luna 1975a ). The last Soviet probe Luna return series, Luna 24 (launched on August 9, 1976), 170 g of lunar rock brought back to Earth.
Moon Rover and later lunar orbiter
By leaving out the back starting stage the lower level to the return probes of the Series E- 8-5 could also bring a greater payload to the moon. This was used three times for the transport of a lunar rover. These probes were designated E -8.
The first launch of a moon rover took place on February 19, 1969, ie before the first launch of an E- 8-5 probe. The payload fairing of the Proton rocket collapsed but after about 1 minute flight time, which led to the destruction of the rocket and its payload. The launch was held secret for a long time and later received the international designation Luna 1969a.
Luna 17 brought on November 17, 1970 Lunokhod 1 on the Moon. Lunokhod was remotely controlled from Earth. Go to navigation were broadcasting television cameras Photos from the area. At regular intervals, high resolution panoramas of the environment were obtained. The lunar soil was studied by X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and penetrometer. Lunokhod 1 weighed 756 kg, was 1.35 m high, 2.21 m long and 2.15 m wide. The central part was filled with nitrogen container in which there was the technical equipment. Energy supplied the solar cells in the cover. Before cooling down during the moon protecting a small amount of polonium -210, which decays with a half -life of 138 days, releasing heat. During the 322 days in which Lunokhod 1 was active, he put back 10.54 km. The probe took around 20,000 photographs and 206 panoramas. At 500 points, the penetrometer measured the physical properties of the lunar surface. At 25 points, the surface with the X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was investigated. 80,000 m² of the surface have been investigated or detained in the image. The probe failed because the heat output of polonium sources had fallen by nearly three half-lives to one-seventh.
Lunokhod 2 was brought to the moon by Luna 21 on 15 January 1973. Although this mission lasted only five months, put this with some 840 kg heavier Lunochod back over 37 km. The probe had to be abandoned after it was driven into a crater and the sun cells were covered with dust, so that you no longer had sufficient power to operate.
Lunokhod 3 was planned together with Luna 25 in 1977. Why this mission was not started until today is not known.
The 1971 and 1974, ie before and after Lunokhod 2, launched probes Luna 19 and Luna 22 ( Series E- 8LS ), however, were lunar orbiter, had where you could put an Lunochod without wheels in a lunar orbit and equipped with further experiments. A radar altimeter surveyed the profile of the surface, a gamma ray spectrometer detected ionizing radiation from the decay of potassium, uranium and thorium, and a panoramic camera created strip recordings of the lunar surface with a resolution of 100 m × 400 m.
Luna 19 was launched on 28 September in 1971 and worked until October 20, 1972 in orbit. It was followed by the last Soviet lunar orbiter on May 29, 1974 Luna 22, which worked until 2 September 1975 at the lunar orbit.