Zond 6
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Zond 6, a member of the Soviet Union's Zond program, was launched on a lunar flyby mission from a parent satellite (68-101B) in Earth parking orbit. The spacecraft, which carried scientific probes including cosmic ray and micrometeoroid detectors, photography equipment, and a biological payload, was a precursor to a manned circumlunar flight which the Soviets hoped could occur in December of 1968, beating the American Apollo 8.
Zond 6 flew around the moon on November 14, 1968, at a minimum distance of 2420 km. Photographs of the lunar near side and far side were obtained with panchromatic film. Each photo was 5 in by 7 in (127.0 by 177.8 mm). Some of the views allowed for stereo pictures. The photos were taken from distances of approximately 11,000 km and 3300 km. Controlled reentry of the spacecraft occurred on November 17, 1968, and Zond 6 landed in a predetermined region of the Soviet Union.
Zond 6 used a relatively uncommon technique called "skip reentry" to shed velocity upon returning to Earth. A few hours before reentry, a faulty rubber gasket caused the cabin to depressurise, killing all living specimens. Zond 6's parachutes also deployed too early and it crashed on Soviet soil. For propaganda reasons, the Soviets claimed the flight was a success, but they were not able to launch a manned flight to the Moon before Apollo 8.
- Launch Date/Time: 1968-11-10 at 19:11:31 UTC
- On-orbit dry mass: 5375 kg
| Preceded by: Zond 5 |
Zond program | Succeeded by: Zond 1969A |
| Zond program |  |
|---|---|
| Zond 1 | Zond 1964A | Zond 2 | Zond 3 | Zond1967A | Zond 1967B | Zond 4 | Zond 1968A | Zond 5 | Zond 6 | Zond 1969A | Zond L1S-1 | Zond L1S-2 | Zond 7 | Zond 8 |
This article was originally based on material from NASA (NSSDC) information on Zond 6 [1]
