Mission Summary
Luna 5 was the first Soviet spacecraft to head for the Moon in two years, and it came closer to a soft landing than any Ye-6 probe before it, only to crash on arrival. Launched May 9, 1965, it carried the lander capsule built to touch down gently and photograph the surface.
After a mid-course correction on May 10, the spacecraft began spinning about its main axis when a floatation gyroscope in the I-100 control system failed; the gyroscopes had been given too little time to warm up before taking over attitude control. A ground-control error then spoiled the first attempt to fire the main braking engine, and a third attempt failed as well.
With the craft out of control, Luna 5 struck the Moon on May 12, 1965 in the Sea of Clouds, about 700 kilometers from its target. It became the second spacecraft to reach the lunar surface, after Luna 2 in 1959, though by crashing rather than landing.
Sources and notes can be found on the Sources page.
