NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Luna 16

Luna 16 (Ye-8-5 series) was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 16. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... NPO Lavochkin is a Russian satellite manufacturer. ... Planetary science, also known as planetology or planetary astronomy, is the science of planets, or planetary systems, and the solar system. ... Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a high-precision atomic time standard. ... The Proton (ÐŸÑ€Ð¾Ñ‚Ð¾ÌÐ½) rocket (formal designation: UR-500, also known as D-1/ D-1e or SL-12/SL-13) is a Russian unmanned space vehicle design, first launched in 1965. ... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The elements of an orbit are the parameters needed to specify that orbit uniquely, given a model of two ideal masses obeying the Newtonian laws of motion and the inverse-square law of gravitational attraction. ... In geometry, the semi-major axis (also semimajor axis) a applies to ellipses and hyperbolas. ... In astrodynamics, under standard assumptions any orbit must be of conic section shape. ... Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction. ... is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... It has been suggested that Space probe be merged into this article or section. ... The Luna programme was a series of 24 unmanned space missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. ...

Luna 16 was the first robotic probe to land on the Moon and return a sample to Earth and represented the first lunar sample return mission by the Soviet Union and the third overall, following the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 missions. The Luna programme was a series of 24 unmanned space missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. ... ASIMO, a humanoid robot manufactured by Honda. ... Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... Moon rocks is the name that has been applied to the 382 kg (842 lbs. ... The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. ... Apollo 12 was the sixth manned mission in the Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. ...

The spacecraft consisted of two attached stages, an ascent stage mounted on top of a descent stage. The descent stage was a cylindrical body with four protruding landing legs, fuel tanks, a landing radar, and a dual descent engine complex.

A main descent engine was used to slow the craft until it reached a cutoff point which was determined by the onboard computer based on altitude and velocity. After cutoff a bank of lower thrust jets was used for the final landing. The descent stage also acted as a launch pad for the ascent stage.

The ascent stage was a smaller cylinder with a rounded top. It carried a cylindrical hermetically sealed soil sample container inside a re-entry capsule.

The spacecraft descent stage was equipped with a television camera, radiation and temperature monitors, telecommunications equipment, and an extendable arm with a drilling rig for the collection of a lunar soil sample.

Mission profile

The Luna 16 automatic station was launched toward the Moon from a preliminary Earth orbit and after one mid-course correction on 13 September it entered a circular 111 km with 70° inclination lunar orbit on September 17, 1970. September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

The lunar gravity was studied from this orbit. After two orbital adjustments were performed on 18 September and 19 September the perilune was decreased to 15.1 km, as well as the inclination altered in preparation for landing. At perilune at 05:12 UT on 20 September, the main braking engine was fired, initiating the descent to the lunar surface. Six minutes later at 05:18 UT, the spacecraft safely soft-landed in its target area at 0°41' south latitude and 56°18' east longitude, in the northeast area of the Sea of Fertility, approximately 100 kilometers east of Webb crater. This was the first landing made in the lunar night side, as the Sun had set about 60 hours earlier. The main descent engine cut off at an altitude of 20 m and the landing jets cut off at 2 m height at a velocity less than 2.4 m/s, followed by vertical free-fall. The mass of the spacecraft at landing was 1,880 kilograms. Less than an hour after landing, at 06:03 UT, an automatic drill penetrated the lunar surface to collect a soil sample. After drilling for 7 minutes, the drill reached a stop at 35 centimeters depth and then withdrew its sample and lifted it in an arc to the top of the spacecraft, depositing the precious cargo in a small spherical capsule mounted on the main spacecraft bus. The column of regolith in the drill tube was then transferred to the soil sample container. Gravity is a force of attraction that acts between bodies that have mass. ... Two bodies with a slight difference in mass orbiting around a common barycenter. ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ... is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Webb is a small lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern edge of the Mare Fecunditatis, in the eastern part of the Moon near the equator. ... A child using an electric drill with a screwdriver bit mounted in the chuck. ... Regolith (Greek: blanket rock) is a layer of loose, heterogeneous material covering solid rock. ...

Finally, after 26 hours and 25 minutes on the lunar surface at 07:43 UT on 21 September, the spacecraft’s upper stage lifted off from the Moon. The lower stage of Luna 16 remained on the lunar surface and continued transmission of lunar temperature and radiation data. Three days later on 24 September, after a direct ascent traverse with no midcourse corrections, the capsule, with its 105 grams of lunar soil, reentered Earth’s atmosphere at a velocity of 11 kilometers per second. The capsule parachuted down 80 kilometers southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan at 05:25 UT on 24 September 1970. Analysis of the dark basalt material indicated a close resemblance to soil recovered by the American Apollo 12 mission. September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Basalt Basalt (IPA: ) is a common gray to black extrusive volcanic rock. ... Apollo 12 was the sixth manned mission in the Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. ...

According to the Bochum Radio Space Observatory in the Federal Republic of Germany, strong and good quality television pictures were returned by the spacecraft.

Luna 16 was a landmark success for the Soviets in their deep space exploration program; the mission accomplished the first fully automatic recovery of soil samples from the surface of the Moon.

1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Luna 1970B was an attempted lunar orbiter. ... The Luna programme (occasionally called Lunik) was a series of unmanned space missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. ... Luna 17 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 17. ...

External Links

Categories: Luna programme | 1970 in space exploration The Luna programme (occasionally called Lunik) was a series of unmanned space missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. ... Image File history File links Luna-9_spacecraft. ... Luna 1958A (E-1 series) was the first Soviet spacecraft which was using for mission to the Moon. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Luna 1958C (E-1 series) was the third Soviet spacecraft which was used for mission to the Moon. ... Luna 1 is the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and the first of the Luna programme of Soviet automatic interplanetary stations successfully launched in the direction of the Moon. ... Luna 2. ... Luna 2 (E-1A series) was the second of the Soviet Unions Luna program spacecraft launched in the direction of the Moon. ... Luna 3 (E-3 series) was the third spacecraft sent successfully to the moon and was an early triumph in the human exploration of outer space. ... Luna 1960A (E-3 series) was the second Soviet attempt to photograph the far side of the Moon. ... Luna 1960B (E-3 series) was the third Soviet attempt to photograph the far side of the Moon. ... The mission of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 25 was an attempted lunar soft landing, with the purpose of returning data on the mechanical characteristics of the lunar surface, the hazards presented by the topology such as craters, rocks, and other obstructions, and radiation, in preparation for future manned landings. ... Luna 1963B (E-6 series) was the second Soviet attempt to land an unmanned spacecraft on the Moon. ... Luna 4 was the USSRs first successful spacecraft of their second generation Luna program. ... Luna 1964A (E-6 series) was the fourth Soviet attempt to land an unmanned spacecraft on the Moon. ... Luna 1964B (E-6 series) was the fifth Soviet attempt to land an unmanned spacecraft on the Moon. ... The Cosmos 60 probe, launched by the Soviet Union on March 12, 1965, was intended to be a lunar soft-landing mission, with a design similar to that of Luna 4. ... Luna 1965A (E-6 series) was the seventh Soviet attempt to land an unmanned spacecraft on the Moon. ... Luna 5 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 5. ... Luna 6 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 6. ... Luna 7 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 7. ... Luna 8 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 8. ... Luna 9 (E-6 series), also known as Lunik 9 (internal name E-6 N. 13), was an unmanned space mission of the Soviet Unions Luna program. ... Luna 10 spacecraft. ... Luna 10 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 10. ... Luna 1966A was the third Soviet attempt to orbit a spacecraft around the Moon (the first attempt being the unsuccessful Cosmos 111 mission and the second being the successful Luna 10 mission). ... Luna 11 was an unmanned space mission of the Soviet Unions Luna program. ... Luna 12 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 12. ... Luna 13 (E-6M series) was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 13. ... Luna 1968A (E-6LS series) was a Soviet attempt to orbit a spacecraft around the Moon. ... Luna 14 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program run by the Soviet Union. ... Lunakhod Luna 1969A (Ye-8 series) was the first attempt to land a Lunokhod rover on the Moon. ... Luna 1969B was the first Soviet attempt at an unmanned lunar sample return. ... Luna 1969C (Ye-8-5 series) was the second Soviet attempt at an unmanned lunar sample return. ... Luna 15 (Ye-8-5 series) was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 15. ... Cosmos 300 (Ye-8-5 series) was the fourth Soviet attempt at an unmanned lunar sample return. ... Cosmos 305 (Ye-8-5 series) was the fifth Soviet attempt at an unmanned lunar sample return. ... Luna 1970A (Ye-8-5 series) was the sixth Soviet attempt at an unmanned lunar sample return. ... Luna 1970B was an attempted lunar orbiter. ... Luna 17 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 17. ... Luna 18 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 18. ... Luna 19 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 19. ... Luna 20 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 20. ... Luna 21 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 21. ... Luna 22 was an unmanned space mission, part of the Soviet Luna program, also called Lunik 22. ... Luna 23 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 23. ... Luna 1975A was a Soviet unmanned space mission, part of the Luna program, and similar to the later Luna 24 mission which successfully collected and returned to Earth a sample of lunar material. ... Luna 24 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 24. ...

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