Soviet Union — Roscosmos
Luna 9: Lunar Landing

Mission Details

Mission Name: Luna 9
Mission Type: Lunar Lander
Operator: Soviet Union (Roscosmos)
Launching State: Soviet Union/Russia
Location: Oceanus Procellarum
Latitude: 8
Longitude: -64
Launch Date: 31 January 1966, 11:41:37 UT
Landing Date: 3 February 1966, 18:45:30 UT
Objects on or Related to Site:
Luna 9
Image Source: NASA

Description

Luna 9 was intended to, and did, achieve the first soft landing on the Moon. The lander proved spacecraft would not simply sink into lunar dust, a finding that paved the way for future Moon landings, including the Apollo missions.

Read more:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/luna-09/in-depth/

Heritage Consideration

Luna 9 was the first human spacecraft to make a soft landing on a celestial body other than Earth.

Object on or Related to Site

Object Name: Luna 9
Cospar: 1966-006A
Norad: N/A
Location: Precise location unknown or undisclosed.
Launch Date: 31 January 1966, 11:45:00 UT
Landing Date: 3 February 1966, 18:45:30 UT
Deployment: N/A
End Date: 6 December 1965
Function: Continue investigations of a lunar soft landing.
Image Source: NASA

Description

Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to achieve a lunar soft landing and to transmit photographic data from the Moon’s surface to Earth, preceding the U.S. Surveyor 1 soft lander by about 4 months. The probe also proved that the lunar surface could support the weight of a lander and that an object would not sink into a loose layer of dust as some models predicted. Luna 9 launched on 31 January 1966 from Baikonur Cosmodrome and reached the Moon on 3 February.

Read more:
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1966-006A

Suggested
Suggested contents and articles.
Suggested Contents
Luna 15: Lunar Landing
Luna 15 was the second attempt by the Soviet Union to recover and return lunar soil back to Earth. 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
Luna 13: Lunar Landing
The mission of Luna 13 was to land on the Moon and characterize the lunar surface. The Luna 13 spacecraft was launched toward the Moon from an earth-orbiting platform and accomplished a soft landing on December 24, 1966, in the region of Oceanus Procellarum.
Luna 8: Lunar Impact
This, the tenth Soviet attempt to achieve a lunar soft-landing, nearly succeeded. The Blok L upper stage successfully dispatched the probe towards the Moon. After a successful mid-course correction at 19:00 UT on Dec. 4, 1965, the spacecraft headed towards its targeted landing site on the Moon without any apparent
Comments
All comments.
Comments