NSSDC ID: 1966-116A
The Luna 13 spacecraft was launched toward the Moon from an earth-orbiting platform and accomplished a soft landing on December 24, 1966, in the region of Oceanus Procellarum. The petal encasement of the spacecraft was opened, antennas were erected, and radio transmissions to Earth began four minutes after the landing. On December 25 and 26, 1966, the spacecraft television system transmitted panoramas of the nearby lunar landscape at different sun angles. Each panorama required approximately 100 minutes to transmit. The spacecraft was equipped with a mechanical soil-measuring penetrometer, a dynamograph, and a radiation densitometer for obtaining data on the mechanical and physical properties and the cosmic-ray reflectivity of the lunar surface. It is believed that transmissions from the spacecraft ceased before the end of December 1966.
Launch Date: 1966-12-21
Launch Vehicle: Modified SS-6 (Sapwood) with 2nd Generation Upper Stage + Escape Stage
Launch Site: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R
Mass: 1700.0 kg
Questions or comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Dr. David R. Williams.
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Mr. Artem Ivankov | General Contact | Lavochkin Association | artem.ivankov@laspace.ru |
Vinogradov, A. P., et al., Study of the lunar surface by the Soviet Luna 9 and Luna 13 automatic stations, In -- Proc. of UN Conf. of the Expl. and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Vienna, Austria, Aug. 14-27, 1968, UN, Paper 68-95769, New York, NY, 1969.
Johnson, N. L., Handbook of soviet lunar and planetary exploration - volume 47 science and technology series, Amer. Astronau. Soc. Publ., 1979.
The image at the top of the page shows a model of the Luna 13 landing craft on display
at the NPO Lavochkin Museum.
Courtesy of Alexander Chernov and the
Virtual Space Museum
Other Soviet Lunar Missions
Lunar Science Home Page