
Mission Details
Mission Name: Luna 16 |
Mission Type: Lunar Lander |
Operator: Soviet Union (Roscosmos) |
Launching State: Soviet Union/Russia |
Location: Mare Fecunditatis |
Latitude: -0.513 |
Longitude: 56.364 |
Launch Date: 12 September 1970, 13:25:53 UT |
Landing Date: 20 September 1970, 05:18 UT |
Objects on or Related to Site: Luna 16 |
Image Source: NASA |
Description
The mission of Luna 16 was to drill out a sample core from the Moon’s surface and return it to Earth.

Read more:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/luna-16/in-depth/
Heritage Consideration
Luna 16 was the first robotic probe to land on the Moon and return a sample to Earth. It returned 101 grams.
Object on or Related to Site
Object Name: Luna 16 | |
Cospar: 1969-058A | |
Norad: N/A | |
Location: Precise location unknown or undisclosed. | |
Launch Date: 12 September 1970, 13:25:53 UT | |
Landing Date: 20 September 1970, 05:18 UT | |
Deployment: N/A | |
End Date: N/A | |
Function: Lunar sample return. | |
Image Source: NASA |
Description
The spacecraft consisted of two attached stages, an ascent stage mounted on top of a descent stage.
The descent stage was a cylindrical body with four protruding landing legs, fuel tanks, a landing radar, and a dual descent engine complex. A main descent engine was used to slow the craft until it reached a cutoff point which was determined by the onboard computer based on altitude and velocity. After cutoff a bank of lower thrust jets was used for the final landing. The descent stage also acted as a launch pad for the ascent stage.
The ascent stage was a smaller cylinder with a rounded top. It carried a cylindrical hermetically sealed soil sample container inside a re-entry capsule. The spacecraft descent stage was equipped with a television camera, radiation and temperature monitors, telecommunications equipment, and an extendable arm with a drilling rig for the collection of a lunar soil sample.

Read more:
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1970-072A