Mission Details
| Mission Name: Luna 15 |
| Mission Type: Lunar Lander |
| Operator: Soviet Union (Roscosmos) |
| Launching State: Soviet Union/Russia |
| Location: Mare Crisium |
| Latitude: 17 |
| Longitude: 60 |
| Launch Date: 13 July 1969, 02:54:42 UT |
| Landing Date: 21 July 1969, 15:51 UT |
| Objects on or Related to Site: Luna 15 |
| Image Source: NASA |
Description
Luna 15 was the second attempt by the Soviet Union to recover and return lunar soil back to Earth.
Read more:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/luna-15/in-depth/
Heritage Consideration
Launched just three days before the Apollo 11 mission, Luna 15 raced to beat the crew to the Moon. In a race to reach the Moon and return to Earth, the parallel missions of Luna 15 and Apollo 11 were, in some ways, the culmination of the Moon race that defined the space programs of both the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The original plan was for Luna 15 to embark on the Moon less than 2 hours after Apollo 11, but it was not to be. Unsure of the terrain below, controllers delayed the landing by another 18 hours. During this critical period, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin walked on the Moon.
Object on or Related to Site
| Object Name: Luna 15 | |
| Cospar: 1969-058A | |
| Norad: N/A | |
| Location: Precise location unknown or undisclosed. | |
| Launch Date: 13 July 1969, 02:54:42 UT | |
| Landing Date: 21 July 1969, 15:51 UT | |
| Deployment: N/A | |
| End Date: 21 July 1969 | |
| Function: Lunar soil sample return. | |
| Image Source: NASA |
Description
On July 21, 1969, a little more than 2 hours prior to the Apollo 11 liftoff from the Moon, Luna 15, now on its 52nd orbit around the Moon, began its descent to the surface. Transmissions, however, abruptly ceased after four minutes instead of nearly five.
According to the original plan, the main engine was to fire for 267.3 seconds and bring the vehicle down to about 1.6 miles (2.5 kilometers) altitude. During the descent, transmissions from the vehicle abruptly and suddenly ended 237 seconds into the engine firing at 15:50:40 UT. The data seemed to show that the spacecraft was about 2 miles (3 kilometers) above the lunar surface. Later analysis indicated that Luna 15 had probably crashed onto the side of a mountain (at something like 298 miles per hour or 480 kilometers per hour) as a result of incorrect attitude of the vehicle at the time of ignition of the descent engine—in other words, the spacecraft was probably descending not directly towards the surface, but at a slight angle.
Luna 15 crashed about 9 miles (15 kilometers) laterally away and 28 miles (45 kilometers) ahead of its assumed location. Impact was roughly at 17 degrees north latitude and 60 degrees east longitude in Mare Crisium.
