Today in the history of astronomy, the last Soviet mission to the Moon launches.
Luna 24, a model of which is seen here, was the last of the Soviet Luna mission, and the third to successfully return lunar soil samples to Earth. Credit: Музей Космонавтики/Wikimedia Commons
- The Luna 24 mission, the final mission of the Soviet Luna program, launched in August 1976.
- Luna 24 successfully landed in the Mare Crisium region of the Moon, a previously unexplored area.
- The mission collected a 160 cm long lunar soil core sample weighing approximately 170 grams.
- The returned sample, the third successful lunar sample return by the Luna program, contained evidence of water and provided new data on lunar surface composition, shared internationally.
The Soviet Luna program, designed for lunar research and mission planning, ran from 1959 to 1976. On Aug. 9, 1976, Luna 24, the final mission of the program, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in present-day Kazakhstan. The probe landed on the Moon’s surface nine days later, in the Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises), a previously uninvestigated area. Luna 24 drilled about 78 inches (200 centimeters) into the soil, collecting a core about 63 inches (160 cm) long and weighing about 6 ounces (170 grams). The samples were sealed and stored in the return capsule, which launched from the Moon on Aug. 19 and landed back on Earth on Aug. 22 – the third mission of the Luna program to successfully bring back samples. The returned soil offered new insights into the chemical and mineral make-up of the lunar surface, as well as the first conclusive signs of water on the Moon. The samples were shared with scientists in the U.S., Great Britain, India, and other countries.
