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''Luna 8'' (E-6 or Ye-6 series), also known as ''Lunik 8'', was a lunar
It was launched in on 3 December 1965 with the objective of achieving a
Zarya - Luna programme chronology
{{Orbital launches in 1965 Luna 08 Spacecraft launched in 1965 1965 in the Soviet Union Spacecraft that impacted the Moon 1965 on the Moon
space probe
Uncrewed spacecraft or robotic spacecraft are spacecraft without people on board. Uncrewed spacecraft may have varying levels of autonomy from human input, such as remote control, or remote guidance. They may also be autonomous, in which th ...
of the 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 ...
.
Mission
It was launched in on 3 December 1965 with the objective of achieving a soft landing
A soft landing is any type of aircraft, rocket or spacecraft landing that does not result in significant damage to or destruction of the vehicle or its payload, as opposed to a hard landing. The average vertical speed in a soft landing should b ...
on the Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It orbits around Earth at an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth's diameter). The Moon rotates, with a rotation period ( lunar day) that is synchronized to its orbital period ( lunar ...
; however, its retrorocket
A retrorocket (short for ''retrograde rocket'') is a rocket engine providing thrust opposing the motion of a vehicle, thereby causing it to decelerate. They have mostly been used in spacecraft, with more limited use in short-runway aircraft land ...
firing occurred too late, and suffered a hard impact on the lunar surface on the Oceanus Procellarum
Oceanus Procellarum ( ; from ) is a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of the Moon. It is the only one of the lunar maria to be called an "Oceanus" (ocean), due to its size: Oceanus Procellarum is the largest of the maria ("s ...
(Ocean of Storms). The mission did complete the experimental testing of its stellar-guidance system and the ground-control of its radio telemetry
Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...
equipment, its flight trajectory, and its other instrumentation.
This, the eleventh Soviet attempt to achieve a lunar soft landing, nearly succeeded. After a successful midcourse correction on 4 December, this spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...
headed toward the Moon without any apparent problems. Just before the scheduled firing of its retrorocket, a command was sent to inflate cushioning air bags around the landing probe. However, a plastic mounting bracket apparently pierced one of the two air bags. The resulting ejection of the air put the spacecraft into a spin of about 12 degrees per second. The spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...
momentarily regained its proper attitude, long enough for a nine-second-long retrorocket
A retrorocket (short for ''retrograde rocket'') is a rocket engine providing thrust opposing the motion of a vehicle, thereby causing it to decelerate. They have mostly been used in spacecraft, with more limited use in short-runway aircraft land ...
firing, but ''Luna 8'' became unstable again. Without a retrorocket burn long enough to reduce its velocity sufficiently for a survivable landing, ''Luna 8'' plummeted to the lunar surface and crashed at 21:51:30 UT on 6 December in the west of Oceanus Procellarum
Oceanus Procellarum ( ; from ) is a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of the Moon. It is the only one of the lunar maria to be called an "Oceanus" (ocean), due to its size: Oceanus Procellarum is the largest of the maria ("s ...
. The coordinates of the crash site are .
See also
*List of artificial objects on the Moon
This is a partial list of artificial materials left on the Moon, many during the missions of the Apollo program. The table below does not include lesser Apollo mission artificial objects, such as a hammer and other tools, Laser Ranging Retroflect ...
* List of missions to the Moon
Missions to the Moon have been numerous and include some of the earliest space missions, conducting exploration of the Moon since 1959.
The first partially successful lunar mission was Luna 1 (January 1959), the first probe to leave Earth ...
References
External links
Zarya - Luna programme chronology
{{Orbital launches in 1965 Luna 08 Spacecraft launched in 1965 1965 in the Soviet Union Spacecraft that impacted the Moon 1965 on the Moon