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Luna 23

NSSDC ID: 1974-084A

Description

Luna 23 was a Moon lander mission which was intended to return a lunar sample to Earth. Launched to the Moon by a Proton SL-12/D-1-e booster, the spacecraft was damaged during landing in Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises). The sample collecting apparatus could not operate and no samples were returned. The lander continued transmissions for 3 days after landing. In 1976, Luna 24 landed several hundred meters away and successfully returned samples.

Alternate Names

  • 07491

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 1974-10-28
Launch Vehicle: Proton Booster Plus Upper Stage and Escape Stages
Launch Site: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R
Mass: 5600.0 kg

Funding Agency

  • Unknown (U.S.S.R)

Disciplines

  • Planetary Science
  • Space Physics

Additional Information

Experiments on Luna 23

Data collections from Luna 23

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

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

Harvey, B., The new Russian space programme from competition to collaboration, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England, 1996.

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