The Luna 14 spacecraft entered a 160 x 870 km lunar orbit with an inclination of 42 degrees at 19:25 UT on April 10, 1968. The spacecraft is believed to have been similar to Luna 12 and the instrumentation was similar to that carried by Luna 10. It provided data for studies of the interaction of the earth and lunar masses, the lunar gravitational field, the propagation and stability of radio communications to the spacecraft at different orbital positions, solar charged particles and cosmic rays, and the motion of the Moon. This flight was the final flight of the second generation of the Luna series.
Luna 14 successfully entered lunar orbit at 19:25 UT on 10 April 1968. Initial orbital parameters were 160 x 870 kilometers at 42° inclination. The primary goal of the flight was to test communications systems in support of the N1-L3 piloted lunar landing project. Ground tracking of the spacecraft’s orbit also allowed controllers to accurately map lunar gravitational anomalies in order to predict trajectories of future lunar missions such as those of the LOK and LK lunar landing vehicles. Luna 14 also carried scientific instruments to study cosmic rays and charged particles from the Sun, although few details have been revealed.
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The frequency of the landing radar for Luna 9 and 13 was 3.2 cm, i.e.
On pictures of the Luna 12 and 14 craft a conical helix is clearly visible which in all certainty is the antenna for the 922 MHz downlink and the 768 MHz uplink.
The description of the third mode of operation seems to be similar to the ranging frequency sweeps on 183.5 MHz observed by myself from the Luna 20 return craft.(See "Reception of signals on 183.54 MHz from the Luna 20 return spacecraft in Stockholm").
Luna14 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 14.
The Luna14 spacecraft entered lunar orbit on April 10, 1968.
The spacecraft instrumentation was similar to that of Luna 10 and provided data for studies of the interaction of the Earth and lunar masses, the lunar gravitational field, the propagation and stability of radio communications to the spacecraft at different orbital positions, solar charged particles and cosmic rays, and the motion of the Moon.
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