A Luna E-8-5 spacecraft |
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| Major contractors | NPO Lavochkin |
|---|---|
| Bus | Luna E-8-5 |
| Mission type | Lunar lander Sample return |
| Launch date | 6 February 1970 04:16:06 UTC |
| Carrier rocket | Proton-K/D 8K82K s/n 247-01 |
| Launch site | Baikonur Site 81/23 |
| Mass | 5,600 kilograms (12,000 lb) |
Luna E-8-5 No.405, also known as Luna Ye-8-5 No.405, and sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1970A,[1] was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1970. It was a 5,600-kilogram (12,000 lb) Luna E-8-5 spacecraft, the fifth of eight 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.[2]
Luna E-8-5 No.405 was launched at 04:16:06 UTC on 6 February 1970 atop a Proton-K 8K78K carrier rocket with a Blok-D upper stage, flying from Site 81/23 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[4] The rocket malfunctioned, and the spacecraft failed to achieve orbit.[5] Prior to the release of information about its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been an attempted sample return mission.[1]
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