NASA Logo, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Space Science Data Center Header

Luna 11

NSSDC ID: 1966-078A

Description

Luna 11 was launched towards the Moon from an earth-orbiting platform and entered lunar orbit on August 28, 1966. The objectives of the mission included the study of: (1) lunar gamma- and X-ray emissions in order to determine the Moon's chemical composition; (2) lunar gravitational anomalies; (3) the concentration of meteorite streams near the Moon; and, (4) the intensity of hard corpuscular radiation near the Moon. A total of 137 radio transmissions and 277 orbits of the Moon were completed before the batteries failed on October 1, 1966.

Alternate Names

  • Lunik 11
  • 02406

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 1966-08-24
Launch Vehicle: Modified SS-6 (Sapwood) with 2nd Generation Upper Stage + Escape Stage
Launch Site: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R
Mass: 3616.0 kg

Funding Agency

  • Unknown (U.S.S.R)

Disciplines

  • Planetary Science
  • Space Physics

Additional Information

Experiments on Luna 11

Data collections from Luna 11

Questions or comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Dr. David R. Williams.

 

Personnel

Name Role Original Affiliation E-mail
Mr. Artem Ivankov General Contact Lavochkin Association artem.ivankov@laspace.ru

Selected References

Luna 11, 12 and 13, TRW Space Log, TRW Systems Group, 6, No. 4, 50-53, Redondo Beach, Calif., 1967.

Shelton, W., Soviet space exploration - the first decade, Arthur Barker Ltd., Unnumbered, London, England, 1969.

Johnson, N. L., Handbook of soviet lunar and planetary exploration - volume 47 science and technology series, Amer. Astronau. Soc. Publ., 1979.

[USA.gov] NASA Logo - nasa.gov