Luna 8
Luna 8 — the last Soviet soft-landing attempt to fail before success (launched 3 December 1965). A punctured cushioning airbag set it spinning, its braking rockets could not fire fully, and it crashed in the Ocean of Storms on 6 December. Two months later Luna 9 made the first soft landing on the Moon.
Key facts
Mission & specifications
Mission
- Operator
- OKB-1 (USSR)
- Launched
- December 3, 1965
- Status
- Lost
Mission
Luna 8 was the last Ye-6 lander to fail. Launched on 3 December 1965, it reached the Moon, but one of its cushioning airbags was punctured. The puncture set the spacecraft spinning, attitude control was lost, and the braking rockets could not fire long enough to slow it. At 21:51:30 UT on 6 December — 00:51 the next morning in Moscow — it crashed in the Ocean of Storms at 9.1° N, 63.3° W. The flight was not wasted. It completed the testing of the star-orientation system and of the ground control of the radio equipment and the flight path. Two months later, on 3 February 1966, Luna 9 touched down in the same Ocean of Storms and sent back the first pictures ever taken from the surface of the Moon.
- 1965Launch toward the MoonLaunch
The fifth Ye-6 to head for the Moon.
A punctured airbag sets it spinning, and the braking rockets cannot fire fully.
Images
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