Planetary Science
LUNA 16
DecayedPlanetary ScienceLunar
Luna 16 was an uncrewed 1970 space mission, part of the Soviet Luna program. It was the first robotic probe to land on the Moon and return a sample of lunar soil to Earth. The 101 grams sample was returned from Mare Fecunditatis. It represented the first successful lunar sample return mission by the Soviet Union and was the third lunar sample return mission overall.
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Launch
- Launch date
- September 12, 1970 at 01:25 PM UTC
- Launch site
- Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
- Launched by
- Proton / UR-500 K/D →
- Operator
- Soviet Space Program
- Mission
- Luna-16
- Launch record
- View full launch →
Trajectory
- Regime
- Interplanetary — Lunar
- Reference body
- Lunar
Spacecraft
- Operator
- Russia (CIS / former USSR)
- Launch mass
- 5,700 kg
Identity
- COSPAR (Int'l)
- 1970-072A
- NORAD catalog №
- 4527
- Object type
- Payload
- Owner / operator
Russia (CIS / former USSR)- Status
- Decayed
- Decay / reentry
- September 24, 1970
End of mission
- Last active / ended
- September 24, 1970
- Time in service
- 12 days
- Fate
- Mission ended at Lunar.
- Final status
- Decayed