Luna E-8-5M No. 412

E-8-5M No.412
A Ye-8-5M model
NamesLuna 1975A
Mission typeLunar sample-return
OperatorSoviet space program
Mission durationLaunch failure
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeLuna
BusYe-8-5
ManufacturerNPO Lavochkin
Launch mass5,750 kg (12,680 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date16 October 1975, 04:04:56 UTC
RocketProton-K/D-1 s/n 287-02
Launch siteBaikonur 81/23
ContractorKhrunichev
Orbital parameters
Reference systemSelenocentric (planned)
Lunar lander
Landing siteMare Crisium (planned)
Instruments
Stereo photographic imaging system
Improved drill/Remote arm for sample collection
Radiation detector
Radio-altimeter
← Luna 23
Luna 24 →

Luna E-8-5M No.412, also known as Luna Ye-8-5M No.412, and sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1975A,[1] was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1975. It was a 5,300 kg (11,700 lb) Luna E-8-5M spacecraft, the second of three to be launched.[2][3] It was intended to perform a soft landing on the Moon, collect a sample of lunar soil, and return it to the Earth.[4]

Luna E-8-5M No.412 was launched at 04:04:56 UTC on 16 October 1975 atop a Proton-K 8K78K launch vehicle with a Blok D-1 upper stage, flying from Site 81/23 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[5] The Blok D stage experienced a failure of the LOX turbopump and so the probe did not reach orbit.[6] Prior to the release of information about its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been an attempted sample return mission. They believed that it was intended to land in Mare Crisium, which was the target for both the Luna 23 and Luna 24 missions; which landed a few hundred metres apart.[1] Since its launch was unsuccessful, it was not acknowledged in the Soviet press at the time.

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