''Luna 22'' (Ye-8-LS series) was an uncrewed space mission, part of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Luna program The Luna programme (from the Russian word " Luna" meaning "Moon"), occasionally called ''Lunik'' by western media, was a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. The programme accompli ...

, also called ''Lunik 22''.

Overview

''Luna 22'' was a

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

orbiter mission. The spacecraft carried imaging cameras and also had the objectives of studying the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

magnetic field A magnetic field (sometimes called B-field) is a physical field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular ...

, surface gamma ray emissions and composition of lunar surface rocks, and the

gravitational field In physics, a gravitational field or gravitational acceleration field is a vector field used to explain the influences that a body extends into the space around itself. A gravitational field is used to explain gravitational phenomena, such as ...

, as well as

micrometeorite A micrometeorite is a micrometeoroid that has survived entry through the Earth's atmosphere. Usually found on Earth's surface, micrometeorites differ from meteorites in that they are smaller in size, more abundant, and different in composition. T ...

s and

cosmic ray Cosmic rays or astroparticles are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the ...

s. Luna 22 was launched into Earth

parking orbit A parking orbit is a temporary orbit used during the launch of a spacecraft. A launch vehicle follows a trajectory to the parking orbit, then coasts for a while, then engines fire again to enter the final desired trajectory. An alternative trajec ...

and then to the Moon. It was inserted into a circular lunar orbit on 2 June 1974. The spacecraft made many orbit adjustments over its 18-month lifetime in order to optimize the operation of various experiments, lowering the

perilune An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values. Apsides pert ...

to as little as 25 km. ''Luna 22'' was the second of two "advanced" lunar orbiters, the first of which being '' Luna 19 . The orbiter was'' designed to conduct extensive scientific surveys from orbit. Well in route to the Moon, ''Luna 20'' had to perform a single mid-course correction on 30 May, and entered lunar orbit on 2 June 1974. When the orbiter first entered orbit of the Moon, it started at periapsis altitude at and apoapsis altitude as , and an inclination of 19°35', these orbital parameters changed throughout its mission. Throughout the orbiters various orbital changes, Luna 22 had performed without any problems, and it continued to return photos fifteen months into its mission, past the conclusion of its primary mission, which had ended by 2 April 1975. The maneuvering propellant on the spacecraft was depleted on 2 September 1975, and the mission was formally concluded in early November 1975, following a highly successful mission.

References

External links

Zarya - Luna programme chronology

{{Orbital launches in 1974 Luna programme Missions to the Moon 1974 in spaceflight 1974 in the Soviet Union Satellites orbiting the Moon Spacecraft launched in 1974 Non Earth orbiting satellites of the Soviet Union

Overview

See also

References

External links