 A Ye-8-5 model in the Museum of Cosmonautics, Moscow. | |
| Mission type | Lunar sample return |
|---|---|
| Operator | Soviet space program |
| COSPAR ID | 1971-073A |
| SATCAT no. | 5448 |
| Mission duration | 9 days (launch day to day of last contact) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | Ye-8-5 |
| Manufacturer | GSMZ Lavochkin |
| Launch mass | 5,725 kilograms (12,621 lb)[1] |
| Dry mass | 5,600 kilograms (12,300 lb)[citation needed] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2 September 1971, 13:40:40 UTC[1] |
| Rocket | Proton-K/D |
| Launch site | Baikonur 81/24 |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | 11 September 1971, 07:48 UTC |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Selenocentric |
| Eccentricity | 0.001361 |
| Periselene altitude | 1,824.9 kilometres (1,133.9 mi) |
| Aposelene altitude | 1,842.3 kilometres (1,144.8 mi) |
| Inclination | 35 degrees |
| Period | 119 minutes |
| Epoch | 6 September 1971, 20:00:00 UTC[2] |
| Lunar orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 7 September 1971 |
| Orbits | ~48 |
| Lunar impact (failed landing) | |
| Impact date | 11 September 1971 07:48 UTC |
| Impact site | 3°34′N 56°30′E / 3.567°N 56.500°E |
| Instruments | |
| Stereo photographic imaging system Remote arm for sample collection Radiation detector Radio altimeter | |
Luna 18, part of the Ye-8-5 series, was an uncrewed space mission of the Luna program.
- ^ a b Siddiqi, Asif (2018). Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016 (PDF) (second ed.). NASA History Program Office. ISBN 9781626830431.
- ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Trajectory Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-02.