| Major contractors | NPO Lavochkin |
|---|---|
| Bus | Luna E-8-5M |
| Mission type | Lunar lander Sample return |
| Launch date | 16 October 1975 04:04:56 UTC |
| Carrier rocket | Proton-K/D-1 8K82K s/n 287-02 |
| Launch site | Baikonur Site 81/23 |
| Mass | 5,600 kilograms (12,000 lb) |
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-kilogram (12,000 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 carrier rocket with a Blok D-1 upper stage, flying from Site 81/23 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[5] The upper stage malfunctioned, and the spacecraft failed to achieve 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 previous and next 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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