Mission Summary
Luna 9 achieved one of the landmark firsts of the Space Age: the first survivable landing of a spacecraft on another world, and the first photographs ever returned from its surface. Launched January 31, 1966, it was the twelfth Soviet soft-landing attempt and the long-sought payoff of the troubled Ye-6 program, as well as the first deep space probe built by the Lavochkin design bureau.
After a mid-course correction on February 1, the probe bore in on the Ocean of Storms. About an hour before touchdown it swung into position for retro-fire; the main engine ignited near an altitude of 75 kilometers and slowed the craft from roughly 2,600 meters per second to walking pace. Just above the ground, a contact sensor triggered the ejection of the egg-shaped, 100-kilogram landing capsule, which came to rest cushioned by airbags on February 3, 1966.
Minutes after landing, the capsule petals unfolded and Luna 9 began transmitting, eventually returning nine pictures, among them five panoramas. The first panoramas reached the public through the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Britain before Soviet officials released them. Beyond the images, the mission answered a crucial question for the missions to come, showing that the lunar surface was firm enough to bear the weight of a lander rather than swallowing it in dust.
Sources and notes can be found on the Sources page.
