Luna-9 — launch
Date in UTC
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 soft landing on the Moon and return imagery from its surface. The spacecraft and lander capsule, combined, weighed 1,538 kilograms (3,391 lb) and was 2.7 meters tall. It commenced the main descent, and shortly before its controlled impact ejected the lander capsule. The lander had a mass of 99 kilograms (218 lb) and consisted of a spheroid Automatic Lunar Station (ALS) capsule measuring 58 centimetres (23 in). It used a landing bag to survive the impact speed of over 54 kilometres per hour (34 mph).
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_9. Related NASA reference: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/chronology.html#1966. Description adapted from Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).
- Category
- Launches and Flight Tests
- Type
- Orbital launch
- Subjects
- Space transportation
- Mission
- Luna 9
- Organization
- Strategic Rocket Forces
- Vehicle
- Molniya 8K78M
- Location
- NIIP-5, Baykonur, Kazakstan
- Country
- SU
- Outcome
- Successful
Context and qualifications
Launch code: DS. Source references: Energiya; -.
Sources and attribution
- Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)
- Wikipedia — Luna 9 (opens in a new tab) — Adapted from Wikipedia contributors; selected sentences retained and edited for length, reference markers and pronunciation glosses. CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Article and edit history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_9 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Timeline of Space Exploration Missions 1957 to 2031 (opens in a new tab)
- NASA — Luna 9 (opens in a new tab)
- NASA NSSDCA — Luna 9 (opens in a new tab)