Luna 9

Luna 9
A replica of Luna 9 on display in the Museum of Air and Space Paris, Le Bourget.
Mission typeLunar lander
OperatorSoviet space program
COSPAR ID1966-006A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.01954
Mission duration6 days, 11 hours, 10 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeYe-6
ManufacturerGSMZ Lavochkin
Launch mass1583.7 kg[1]
Landing mass99 kg
Start of mission
Launch date31 January 1966, 11:41:37 UTC[1]
RocketMolniya-M 8K78M s/n 103-32
Launch siteBaikonur, Site 31/6
End of mission
Last contact6 February 1966, 22:55 GMT
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric[2]
RegimeHighly elliptical
Perigee altitude220 km
Apogee altitude500000 km
Inclination51.8°
Period14.96 days
Epoch31 January 1966
Lunar lander
Landing date3 February 1966, 18:45:30 GMT
Landing site7°05′N 64°22′W / 7.08°N 64.37°W / 7.08; -64.37[3] or 7°08′N 64°22′W / 7.13°N 64.37°W / 7.13; -64.37[4]

Luna 9 (Луна-9), internal designation Ye-6 No.13, was an uncrewed space mission of the Soviet Union's Luna programme. On 3 February 1966, the Luna 9 spacecraft became the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on the Moon and return imagery from its surface.[3][5]

  1. ^ a b Siddiqi 2018, p. 55.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference satcat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NSSDC1966-006A was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Table of Anthropogenic Impacts and Spacecraft on the Moon".
  5. ^ Reichl, Eugen (2019). The Soviet Space Program The Lunar Years: 1959-1976. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-7643-5675-9. Retrieved 27 September 2024.