Luna 24
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Organization: | Soviet Union |
| Major Contractors: | NPO Lavochkin |
| Mission Type: | Lunar Science Lunar Sample Return |
| Satellite of: | Moon |
| Launch: | August 9, 1976 at 15:04:12 UTC |
| Launch Vehicle: | Proton 8K82K + Blok D |
| Mission Highlight: | 170 gram Lunar sample returned to earth on August 22, 1976, 17:55 UTC 200 km Southeast of Surgut, western Siberia. |
| Mission Duration: | 13 days |
| Mass: | 5,800 kg |
| NSSDC ID: | 1976-081A |
| Webpage: | NASA NSSDC Master Catalog |
| Orbital elements | |
|---|---|
| Semimajor Axis: | 6,492.8 km |
| Eccentricity: | 0 |
| Inclination: | 120° |
| Orbital Period: | 119 minutes |
| Apogee: | 115 km |
| Perigee: | 115 km |
| Orbits: | ~48 |
| Entered Lunar orbit: | August 14, 1976 |
| Lunar Landing: | August 18, 1976, 06:36 UTC |
| Landing coordinates: |
12° 45' N, 62° 12' E . |
| Lunar liftoff: | August 19, 1976, 05:25 UTC |
| Instruments | |
| Stereo imaging system : | Lunar photography |
| Improved Drill/Remote arm for sample collection : | collect lunar material |
| Radiation detector : | Lunar radiation environment |
| Radio-altimeter : | Lunar surface composition |
Luna 24 (Ye-8-5M series) was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 24. The last of the Luna series of spacecraft, the mission of the Luna 24 probe was the third Soviet mission to retrieve lunar soil samples (the first two missions returning samples were Luna 16 and Luna 20).
- On-orbit dry mass: 4800 kg
The probe landed in the area known as Mare Crisium (Sea of Crisis). The mission successfully returned 170 grams of lunar samples to the Earth on 22 August 1976.
Luna 24 was the third attempt to recover a sample from the unexplored Mare Crisium (after Luna 23 and a launch failure in October 1975), the location of a large lunar mascon. After a trajectory correction on 11 August 1976, Luna 24 entered orbit around the Moon three days later. Initial orbital parameters were 115 x 115 kilometers at 120° inclination. After further changes to its orbit, Luna 24 set down safely on the lunar surface at 06:36 UT on 18 August 1976 at 12°45' north latitude and 62°12' east longitude, not far from where Luna 23 had landed. After appropriate commands from ground control, the Lander deployed its sample arm and pushed its drilling head about 2 meters into the nearby soil. The sample was safely stowed in the small return capsule, and after nearly a day on the Moon, Luna 24 lifted off successfully from the Moon at 05:25 UT on 19 August 1976. After an uneventful return trip, Luna 24’s capsule entered Earth’s atmosphere and parachuted down to Earth safely at 17:55 UT on 22 August 1976, about 200 kilometers southeast of Surgut in western Siberia. Study of the recovered 170.1 grams of soil indicated a laminated type structure, as if laid down in successive deposits. Tiny portions of the sample were shared with NASA in December 1976.
As of 2006 Luna 24 remains the last probe from any country to make a soft landing on the Moon. Until the return of the Stardust probe in 2006 it was the last spacecraft to return samples to the Earth from another celestial body. It is also the last spacecraft launched on a lunar mission by the Soviet Union or Russia.
| Preceded by: Luna 1975A |
Luna programme | Succeeded by: Last of series |
| Luna programme |
 |
|||
| Luna 1958A | Luna 1958B | Luna 1958C | Luna 1 | Luna 1959A | Luna 2 | Luna 3 | Luna 1960A | Luna 1960B | Sputnik 25 | Luna 1963B | Luna 4 | Luna 1964A | Luna 1964B | Cosmos 60 | Luna 1965A | Luna 5 | Luna 6 | Luna 7 | Luna 8 | Luna 9 | Cosmos 111 | Luna 10 | Luna 1966A | Luna 11 | Luna 12 | Luna 13 | Luna 1968A | Luna 14 | Luna 1969A | Luna 1969B | Luna 1969C | Luna 15 | Cosmos 300 | Cosmos 305 | Luna 1970A | Luna 1970B | Luna 16 | Luna 17 | Luna 18 | Luna 19 | Luna 20 | Luna 21 | Luna 22 | Luna 23 | Luna 1975A | Luna 24 | ||||
This article contains material that originally came from a NASA website. According to their site usage guidelines, "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". For more information, please review NASA's use guidelines.
