Luna 18
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| Organization: | Soviet Union |
| Major Contractors: | GSMZ Lavochkin |
| Mission Type: | Planetary Science Lunar Sample Return |
| Satellite of: | Moon |
| Launch: | September 2, 1971 at 13:40:40 UTC |
| Launch Vehicle: | Proton 8K82K + Blok D |
| Mission Highlight: | Lunar impact on September 11, 1971, 07:48 UTC at 3° 34' N, - 56° 30' E. |
| Mission Duration: | 9-days |
| Mass: | 5,750 kg |
| NSSDC ID: | 1971-073A |
| Webpage: | NASA NSSDC Master Catalog |
| Orbital elements | |
|---|---|
| Semimajor Axis: | 6,477.8 km |
| Eccentricity: | .001361 |
| Inclination: | 35° |
| Orbital Period: | 119 minutes |
| Aposelene: | 100 km |
| Periselene: | 100 km |
| Orbits: | ~48 - then attempted landing and Lunar impact |
| Instruments | |
| Stereo imaging system : | Lunar photography |
| Remote arm for sample collection : | collect lunar material |
| Radiation detector : | Lunar radiation environment |
| Radio altimeter : | Density of lunar topsoil |
Luna 18 (Ye-8-5 series) was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 18. Luna 18 was placed in an earth parking orbit after it was launched and was then sent towards the Moon. On September 7, 1971, it entered lunar orbit. The spacecraft completed 85 communications sessions and 54 lunar orbits before it was sent towards the lunar surface by use of braking rockets. It impacted the Moon on September 11, 1971, at 3 degrees 34 minutes N, 56 degrees 30 minutes E (selenographic coordinates) in a rugged mountainous terrain. Signals ceased at the moment of impact.
This mission was the seventh Soviet attempt to recover soil samples from the surface of the Moon and the first after the success of Luna 16. After two midcourse corrections on 4 September and 6 September 1971, Luna 18 entered a circular orbit around the Moon on 7 September at 100 kilometers altitude with an inclination of 35°. After several more orbital corrections, on 11 September, the vehicle began its descent to the lunar surface. Unfortunately, contact with the spacecraft was abruptly lost at 07:48 UT at the previously determined point of lunar landing. Impact coordinates were 3°34' north latitude and 56°30' east longitude, near the edge of the Sea of Fertility. Officially, the Soviets announced that "the lunar landing in the complex mountainous conditions proved to be unfavorable." Later, in 1975, the Soviets published data from Luna 18’s continuous-wave radio altimeter that determined the mean density of the lunar topsoil.
| Preceded by: Luna 17 |
Luna programme | Succeeded by: Luna 19 |
| Luna programme |
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